Just eight concerts scheduled this summer at Mason District Park
The Fairfax County Park Authority has announced an abbreviated performance schedule for the Spotlight by Starlight series at Mason District Park.
The following concerts will be held on Fridays at 7:30 p.m. in the park’s amphitheater:
- June 26 – The Fabulous Hazards, a four-piece band blending 90s and 2000s favorites with rock takes on modern pop.
- July 10 – Cougar Beatrice, a band that roams across genres, drawing from 2000s alt-rock, blues, pop, and vintage rock.
- July 17 – Gotcha Covered Band, covering classic rock, pop, Motown, blues, and country hits you know and some you forgot you knew.
- July 24 – City of Falls Church Concert Band, a 60-piece band that performs a mix of marches, classical pieces, Broadway show medleys, and American classics.
- July 31 – NOVA Symphony Orchestra, the “Orchestra-in-Residence” at the Ernst Community Cultural Center at the Northern Virginia Community College’s Annandale Campus, performs a wide variety of popular and rarely heard music by diverse composers across the centuries.
- Aug. 7 – Kiti Gartner & the Drifting Valentines, Western swing, rockabilly, and classic country.
- Aug. 14 – Pat McGee, a singer-songwriter who grew up in Annandale.
- Aug. 21 – Orquesta Tropikiimba, high-energy salsa and Afro-Caribbean music.
A couple of years ago, the Spotlight by Starlight series featured three concerts a week at Mason District Park. The 2026 schedule has been significantly reduced due to budget cuts.
The Park Authority has not announced an entertainment schedule for Ossian Hall Park or children’s shows at Mason District Park.
Looks like a good lineup! I have never been, how does it work? Does one bring a chair and find a spot? Can we bring something to snack on? Or dinner?
Yes, bring a chair and find a spot. Yes, bring whatever you want to eat/drink (but no alcohol). [Not an official response, but someone who has attended many times over the years.]
There is plenty of seating on simple wooden benches on a gently sloped, mulched hill, but there is no grassy area like you’ll find at, for example, Wolf Trap. There are currently two picnic tables in the shade at the top of the hill and a wheelchair-accessible mezzanine. A covered picnic pavilion nearby is not within sight of the stage and can be reserved for private events, but otherwise you could eat there, too, or put a picnic blanket on the ground near the tennis courts. Enjoy the show!
Maybe raising property taxes again will result in more shows?