Fairlie-Poplar has a standing midweek invitation for anyone on a lunch break downtown: step outside on a Wednesday and listen to a live band for free. The Broad Street Boardwalk Lunchtime Concert Series puts musicians on a pedestrian plaza each week while the weather is warm, and it costs nothing to stop by.
The schedule is simple to remember. Shows run every Wednesday from April through September, starting at noon and wrapping at 1:30 p.m. That ninety-minute window fits inside a workday, long enough to eat, catch a few songs and still be back at a desk for the afternoon. Atlanta on the Cheap points readers to the organizers for more details and a list of the season's performers, so anyone who wants to plan around a particular act can check the lineup before heading over.
The setting is part of the appeal. The Broad Street Boardwalk is a car-free plaza in the Fairlie-Poplar District, one of downtown's historic districts. The boardwalk sits where Luckie Street meets Peachtree Street, directly behind the Flatiron Building at 84 Peachtree St. For anyone already working or running errands along Peachtree, it is a short walk away.
Because the series is free, there is no ticket to buy. Come for the full set or drop in for fifteen minutes between meetings. Bring a packed lunch or pick something up on the way and spend part of the hour outdoors. It works as easily for a solo break as it does for a group of coworkers who want a change of scenery in the middle of the week.
Weekly programming like this gives people a reason to spend time on downtown streets in the middle of the day. For background on how downtown groups have staged markets, boardwalk performances and other street-level activations, see our earlier look at CAP and ADID's downtown placemaking work.
Details for any outdoor series can change without notice, so confirm the day's performer and timing with the organizers before you go.
Original reporting by Hilda for Atlanta on the Cheap.