Mike Rhyner knows what it means to see a city transformed, especially when it comes to downtown Dallas. As a lifelong resident, Rhyner has watched the area change dramatically—and says Klyde Warren Park is at the center of that evolution.
“Klyde Warren Park is near and dear to my heart because Downtown Dallas and the inner city is near and dear to my heart, and it's the only thing like it that we have ever had,” Rhyner said. “For those of us who are native to the area and have been around and seen the way downtown was disregarded for so many years...Klyde Warren Park is kind of the crown jewel for all of that.”
Rhyner will play a special role in a first-of-its-kind ticketed music festival at the park—Cover to Cover, slated for Saturday, May 31 from 1 to 7:30 p.m.
The event serves as a fundraiser, with all proceeds going toward maintaining the park’s daily free programming and keeping the green space vibrant for all of Dallas.
Rhyner, a Dallas radio legend and a founding member of the Tom Petty tribute band Petty Theft, calls this a “pinch me thing”—the chance to play in such a unique venue right in the middle of the city he loves.
“I never thought that Dallas was capable of putting something so right for the place, so right for the time together the way they have,” he says. “And it's just really, really neat to go down there for any reason, but it's going to be neat to play there and to be a part of the music thing there.”
Petty Theft is celebrating more than 20 years as a band, something Rhyner is especially proud of.
“It's very unusual for bands to stay together for this long, bands to do something together for this long, and I'm really proud of the longevity of the things,” he noted. “I'm proud of a lot of things about it, but the longevity is certainly one.”
Rhyner’s passion for Tom Petty’s music goes back decades.
“When Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers came along, I saw something that I knew. First time I saw them, I thought, okay. I've seen this before. This is a real band. This is a band in the sense that I know a band to be, and this is something that I can identify with,” he explained.
But concertgoers at Cover to Cover will enjoy more than just Petty classics.
“It’s going be a very diverse lineup they have. They got a Taylor Swift cover. They got a Prince cover, and several others as well. So a lot of bases are going to be covered, and a lot of great music is going to come down. It's really going to be quite a day,” Rhyner said.
Tickets for the event are $35, with additional premium options available.
“If you care about Klyde Warren Park, if you care about this part of town, then you need to be there for this,” Rhyner urged. “Number one, it's gonna be fun, but number two, the cause is just immaculate.”
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