The Kentucky Symphony Orchestra will roll out its popular summer concert series in July to outdoor amphitheaters in Devou Park in Covington and Tower Park in Fort Thomas.
Summer 2026 marks the KSO’s 32nd consecutive summer park series, which will surpass 500,000 total attendees this summer. Audiences are encouraged to register at kyso.org for weather and information updates.
“From Sea to Shining Sea” – Celebrating America’s landscapes and history
• 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 11 (Devou Park)
• 7:45 p.m. Sunday, July 12 (Tower Park)
With this year marking America’s 250th Anniversary, the KSO reflects on the landscapes and the history of our great nation through music. Learn the story of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and drift along the mighty Mississippi and the Ohio Rivers. Attend a rodeo and ride a mule through the Grand Canyon. Wave your stars and stripes and sing along to your “Old Kentucky Home.” Local baritone Alexander Kapp, joins the KSO to lead you across America “from sea to shining sea” Join the KSO to celebrate your’s and your forebearer’s national birthday and God-given freedoms.
“Swingin’ the Classics” – A big band take on Bach to Gershwin
• 7:30 p.m. Saturday, August 1 (Devou Park)
• 7:30 p.m. Sunday, August 2 (Tower Park)
The KSO’s regional jazz all-stars offer a big band take on classical music from Bach — Mozart and Brahms to Gershwin. Hear Verdi’s “Anvil Chorus”, Holst’s The Planets and Suppe’s Poet and Peasant Overture in a completely different and fun musical realm. Re-imagining classical music as jazz has been in vogue since Ragtime of the early 1900s. Composer-arrangers like Billy May and Gordon Goodwin grew up on the classics, and their familiarity made spinning war horses in a new genre a natural extension of their talents.
“Living in America” – Patriotic Pop from the 1950s to 2010s
• 7:30 p.m. Saturday, September 5 (Devou Park)
• 7:30 p.m. Sunday, September 6 (Tower Park)
• 7:00 p.m. Monday, September 7 (Woodside Arboretum, Middletown, OH
The KSO Boogie Band celebrates America’s 250th through patriotic pop songs from the 1950s to the 2010s — From Elvis and the Beach Boys to Lenny Kravitz and Miley Cyrus. All generations and styles of America centric music are represented including hits from Chicago, Elton John, James Brown, Martina McBride, and even a tune from Broadway’s West Side Story.
The KSO is thrilled to continue serving its unique brand of culture and entertainment to NKY & Greater Cincinnati audiences. For those who wish to avoid outdoor crowds, dress rehearsals on Saturday mornings — July 11, August 1 and Spember 5 — at 10:30 a.m. in Covington’s Devou Park, are open to the public. Sunday evening programs will be live-streamed from Tower Park in Ft. Thomas at kyso.org.
Recently, an anonymous donor has tapped their Horizon donor advised fund to jumpstart a $25,000 challenge grant with $5,000 to ensure the KSO’s great and varied music, family gatherings and shared cherished memories will continue in Northern Kentucky for the next generation in celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary.
KSO gifts and donations collected this summer through Labor Day will be matched and go toward meeting this challenge. Concessions and food trucks will be on-site at Devou and Tower Parks. Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets, picnics or lawn chairs.
A $5 per person donation is suggested for each concert. Free parking is available with TANK Shuttles running from the Covington Catholic High School parking lot to the Devou band shell for $2 each way.
For more information, registration for weather updates, and directions, visit the KSO at kyso.org or call 859-431-6216.
Kentucky Symphony Orchestra