A series of free concerts kicks off Friday in the Waterloo neighborhood of Cleveland

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Starting May 6, Cleveland Rocks: Past, Present & Future will launch its Waterloo Makes Music concert series, which will feature local musicians twice a month, free of charge.

Friday at 7 p.m., the series will kick off with acclaimed jazz singers Shirley Cook and Ava Preston. The seated event will take place at the Beachland Ballroom. Saxophonist John Cochran Jr., pianist David Thomas, drummer Perry Williams and bassist George Lee will accompany Cook, and pianist Joey Skoch and bassist Ian Ashby will accompany Preston.

Tickets for the concert can be reserved on Eventbrite.

Cook has been singing on the Cleveland jazz scene for over 30 years, while Preston is a 17-year-old award-winning singer from Cleveland. “Soul City Cleveland” documentary director Fanon Hill is collaborating with Cleveland Rocks: Past, Present & Future to put together the first show, according to a press release.

The first installment of Waterloo Makes Music takes place during this month Walk All Over Waterloo Eventoffering open galleries to visit in advance.

Further Waterloo Makes Music concerts are scheduled, on the first Friday and third Saturday of each month, using the Beachland Ballroom as well as the Tower’s Outdoor Stage and the Windmill Stage. The program includes a concert on May 21 featuring Jackie Warren, Sammy DeLeon and Moises Borges; a concert on June 18 featuring Apostle Jones and Reagan Gray; a concert on July 1 with Erin Neal & The Chill Factors and Nancy Redd and the Sounds of Jazz; and a concert on August 5 featuring The Covemen and Mossom.

The series is supported by the Ohio Arts Council and Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.

To find out more about Waterloo makes music, go to clevelandrocksppf.org.

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