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Corey Groll begins a new era as Bandstand director
Cape Gazette
Corey Groll is excited to begin a new era in the longstanding Rehoboth tradition, at the Bandstand.
He has worked at the Bandstand since high school, but is happy to take on a new role as director, he said.
The new job is bittersweet because it comes at the end of Ruth Hayes’ life and career. Hayes and her husband, the late Bill Hayes, directed activity at the bandstand for decades, until her death over the summer. “She was like my grandma,” he said.
Through the years of working with Hayes, Groll said he learned and developed new ideas on how to improve upon the summertime music destination.
“I think it will be a natural transition. They have kept it with someone who knows how it works and what it takes to make it better,” said Groll of the decision to hire him as a director.
Changes are slated in many facets for next season.
Groll will determine a permanent schedule to cut down on scheduling confusion and help people attend the shows they want. In the past, shows have been presented on a somewhat random schedule throughout the week, he said.
The new schedule will be posted online and will feature performances the same nights each week. “People can come to the bandstand and know what they are going to get,” he said.
Groll plans to schedule performances for the weekends, when more people are downtown in the summer.
He also plans to create family nights when people can plan to bring their children and enjoy a family friendly show appropriate for all ages.
New acts are part of the changes too. Groll is seeking bands and troupes to perform next summer. He encourages locals to send demo tapes and a press packet for consideration.
“We want to update the shows and get something a little different,” he said. At the same time, visitors can expect to hear some of the successful acts that people have come to expect, such as military bands and jazz standards.
They are looking for more rock and more variety, he said, to draw a more diverse crowd of people to the bandstand.
Groll has been unable to book new acts thus far because construction is about to begin on a new bandstand that will face the opposite direction.
It will have a new shape, state-of-the-art sound equipment and raised benches, Groll said.
He comes into the position with much experience to offer.
The University of Delaware graduate teaches science and math at Cape Henlopen High School, where he also directs the musicals.
In addition to his full time teaching position, Groll has worked with many bands, venues and companies as a sound director arranging proper instruments for performances.
Groll said he hopes to keep the job for many years and pledges to include shows for everyone who comes to Rehoboth.
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