Twilight Tunes is back at Botanica, but there’s a change this year

Amy Geiszler-Jones
·2 min read

Botanica’s Tuesday night concert series — Twilight Tunes on the Terrace — is returning, but with a twist.

This year, the six-concert series at the Wichita garden attraction will run weekly, starting April 23 and concluding May 28, rather than once a month between April and September.

When Botanica staff looked at attendance patterns for last year’s Twilight Tunes series, they noticed that while the April and May concerts sold out, the audiences dropped off during the hotter summer nights, said Nikki Smith, director of community engagement and education.

“It’s earlier now because of the weather,” Smith said.

While staff still want folks to groove in the gardens to regional bands, “we want to keep visitors and musicians comfortable,” she said.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. on concert nights to allow guests to stroll around the gardens or grab nonalcoholic or alcoholic drinks from Bar on Demand, and dinner from Molino’s Mexican Cuisine. Concert-goers can bring picnics, but no outside alcohol is allowed.

While the terrace has limited first-come first-served seating, guests are also welcome to bring lawn chairs, she said.

The concerts start at 6:30 p.m. and end at 8:30 p.m. The scheduled live bands are:

  • April 23, Llew Brown Band, the only returning performers from last year’s lineup. The Wichita-based band plays rock, country and pop music.

  • April 30, Across the Pond, which performs British hits that were popular in the U.S. during the 1960s and ‘70s,

  • May 7, Annie Up, a female-fronted band that performs a wide variety of music,

  • May 14. Keo & Them, a group that draws influences from ‘70s and alternative R&B to contemporary neo-soul,

  • May 21, Kelly Hunt Band, which features folk/Americana blues music, and

  • May 28, The Source, which is an eight-piece band that plays dance music ranging from top 40 hits to Motown, disco, classic rock and big band swing.

Tickets are $12, $10 for members and $8 for premium members, youth, military and seniors, and free for kids 2 and younger. All tickets must be purchased online and in advance at botanica.org/twilight-tunes-on-the-terrace; no tickets will be sold at the door. Entrance is through the main gate only. Botanica is located at 701 Amidon.