One of the best things about Durango, Colorado, is all the free stuff to do. During your vacation here (and you’ll be staying with us at the Durango Quality Inn, naturally), you can entertain yourself and spend minimal money doing it.

Every Thursday evening, enjoy free, live music at Buckley Park in historic downtown Durango during the Concert Hall at the Park series. Buckley Park is between 12th and 13th streets off Main Avenue, about 1.5 miles from the Durango Quality Inn. You can walk to the park, which takes about 30 minutes, or ride the city’s free trolley to the park from our hotel’s doorstep. (The trolley runs every 20 minutes, and the last pickup at Buckley Park is at 10 p.m.)

The concerts are 5-7:30 p.m. every Thursday throughout the summer and are presented by Alpine Bank and the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis Community College.

So grab some lawn chairs or blankets, pack a picnic and bring the family to enjoy some free live music.

Here’s the schedule for the next few weeks:

• July 11: Elder Grown, a band formed and fronted by three brothers, combines “the styles of rock, reggae, hip hop, blues and dub. They bring to the stage an exciting blend of sounds and instruments that pull the listeners in from verse to verse and song to song.”
• July 18: Spafford, a four-piece band from Prescott, Arizona, combines “captivating vocal harmonies, catchy and unique riffs, and ever-evolving, never-static jam sessions.” Spafford warns that even if you don’t usually cut loose at concerts, you’ll probably end up shaking your groove thang at one of their shows.
• July 25: This is a two-fer concert! The Durango Jazz Septet will kick things off, followed by Carute Roma (pronounced Kah-root-say), which means “Gypsy Wagon.” The self-described “upbeat troupe of bohemian musicians” hail from Durango and “play traditional Roma music from Eastern Europe and Russia, along with modern Gypsy songs from around the world.”
• Aug. 1: And another two-for-one (although the concerts are always free) show! The Assortment, a local five-piece band, will get the party started with its “eclectic mix effervescent music,” followed by Jazz Is.

So stay with us at the Durango Quality Inn and enjoy free live music just down the street!