Roughly 2,000 people gathered at Turley Park Thursday for live music, games and fellowship to continue the annual Sunset Concert series.

This summer, the series is celebrating 35 years of bringing the community together with funk, reggae, soul, rock and R&B music. The concerts can bring people of all ages, professions and backgrounds out to the park, including those who grew up attending the concerts.

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Joe Palermo, guitar professor for the School of Music, has attended the concerts for 10 years and goes for the social aspect.

“My favorite thing about the concerts is socializing,” he said. “It’s all about the people and having a good time with folks.”

Palermo said he used to come with friends and roommates when he was in college, but now he comes with his family. He said it’s great when the concerts are at Turley Park because his children have a place to play.

Stephen Kuhn, a graduate student in vocal performance from Greenfield, Ind., said it was his first time attending a Sunset Concert and noticed it brought together individuals of all ages, even families and their children.

He said his favorite thing was spending time with his friends and the atmosphere reminded him of concerts he used to see in his hometown.

“This is a down-west, Mid-West, hometown concert at the park,” he said. “The music is something that people can relate to.”

Jonathon Brooks, of Carbondale, has been coming to the sunset concerts for seven years and said he likes how the music is always different.

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He said even though each concert showcases a different genre, the variation doesn’t affect the turnout.

“They always have a different type of music each week, “ Brooks said. “I think that people would come out no matter what the music was because it’s a social thing as much as a music thing.”

The concerts have been sponsored since 1978 by the university’s Student Center and Student Programming Council along with the City of Carbondale and the Carbondale Park District. The four committees work together every year from late January until April to coordinate every aspect of the event.

Macklin Anderick, director of student concerts for the Student Programming Council, said he was excited to see all the people enjoying themselves at the concert. One of the goals is to have a wide variety of music so everyone can enjoy themselves, he said.

Macklin said he was pleased to see all of his work finally pay off.

“It’s a great feeling to see all the people enjoying themselves, It makes all the hard work worth it,” he said. “I appreciate the community’s involvement in the concerts and reception of the bands that we bring in.”

Some of the bands playing this summer include: Rico, The Right Now, The Kopecky Family Band and The Ark Band. The full schedule of events can be found at www.studentcenter.siu.edu/sunset-concerts. The concerts, which began June 13, will continue every Thursday at 7 p.m. through July 25, with the exception of July 4, and alternate between Shryock Auditorium and Turley Park.