HUNTINGTON – "Everyone's excited to get out," said Vicki Mayhew of the Huntington Community Events Committee at the first concert of the Summer Music Series on the Green July 29.

About 50 people gathered in socially distanced groups six feet apart on lawn chairs to hear The Brian and Vicky Show, a country duet featuring songs of Johnny Cash and June Carter, Waylon Jennings, Reba McEntire and Rosanne Cash, who were set up in the gazebo.

Mayhew said she was also nervous, both that everyone would follow the guidelines, and of the threatening clouds in the sky.  She and her committee had been planning the concert for weeks, consulting with and receiving the go ahead from the Board of Health, Fire, Ambulance and Selectmen.

Board of Health chair Melissa Reid came by the concert to check out the arrangements. She said that Huntington has not had an open case of COVID-19 since July 1.

Then the rain came.  The band did not stop singing, and the people just moved to the outskirts of the green or to their cars, waiting for the shower to pass. One group stayed put under their umbrellas in the center of the lawn, and another couple danced on the sidewalk under the trees.

As one resident said, "We need this."

Upcoming concerts include A-Ray of Elvis on Aug. 6, Rock 201 on Aug. 13 and Rosie Porter and the Neon Moons on Aug. 20. Concerts are sponsored by The Huntington Community Events Committee and supported by The Huntington Cultural Council.