|
Performance Times:
All performances begin at 8pm
(unless otherwise mentioned)
Testimonials/Comments
View Schedules:
|
|
Press
|
The man behind the bandstand
Corey Groll has a new gazebo and a lot of experience | By Ashley Dawson | Signature Brandywine
If Corey Groll showcased his own talents on the Rehoboth Beach Bandstand, where he books free entertainment through the summer, he’d probably put on a juggling act.
We’re not talking pieces of fruit or flaming batons, though. Groll juggles commitments: full-time teacher, part-time Web designer, bandstand director, plus father and husband. He and wife, Nicole have two children, son Brenden, 5, and daughter, Emily, 3.
Fortunately, Groll has experience on the stage. He participated in theater in high school and is a drama program adviser at the Cape Henlopen High School, where he teaches special education. But Groll says he doesn’t miss performing. He likes being behind the scenes and having more control. “It’s more fun to put it on,” he says. Plus, “You’re really giving the community something they enjoy.”
Groll, of Lewes, stepped into the role of bandstand program manager at a pivotal time, taking over after longtime bandstand director Ruth Hayes died in June 2005. She had picked up the responsibilities in 1994, when her husband, Rehoboth bandstand founder William Hayes, died.
Groll had worked with Ruth Hayes since 1991, when an internship as sound engineer eventually led to a job spending summers running the sound system.
The first summer after Hayes died, Groll ran the bandstand using the schedule she left behind. When he took over in 2006 for his first full season, Groll says, ushering in change was a little easier because so many things were new that year. He jokes that having so many different elements helped ease the pressure and gave people too many changes to find fault with just one.
The City of Rehoboth had just completed its multimillion-dollar downtown revitalization project, which included a new bandstand structure. A circular gazebo, with crowds facing the performers and the ocean, replaced the white concrete stage where audiences sat with their backs to the beach.
The gazebo offers audiences views from all directions and provides air-conditioned dressing rooms, restrooms, and a storage area beneath the stage.
“The goal is to bring in all new acts each year,” Groll says, creating a 60-40 percent split of familiar bands and new groups that can provide family-friendly entertainment in many music genres.
Variety meant welcoming back coastal Delaware bands that hadn’t performed in years on the bandstand, such as Vinyl Shockley, The Funsters, and Love Seed Mama Jump, which now usually opens the season in June.
Of course some things remain true to the Hayeses. Military bands entertain regularly, including for the city’s annual Fourth of July fireworks extravaganza.
Striving to keep the bandstand fresh, Groll has led the traditional venue into the future, drawing on all modes of technology to get the word out. A savvy brochure and an even savvier Web site promote the acts. The bandstand has a Facebook page and is on Twitter. Musicians must apply online.
“We’ve changed everything, from the old program schedules that were five sheets of 8 ½ -by-11-inch white paper stapled together, to full-color glossy rack cards that you can take home and put on your fridge,” Groll says. This year he has launched a new project, a photo contest featuring images of the bandstand.
Fay Jacobs, director of Rehoboth Beach Mainstreet, says the community has embraced the differences. “With Corey Groll working to bring a diverse program of entertainment to town, the crowds keep growing. The combination of local, military, and well-known bands has set a new bar for quality entertainment at the bandstand.”
Groll says, “there is something for every age.”
|
|
|
