Steve Canario showed up at the Stackhouse Fairgrounds to set up for the annual concert at 8:30 a.m. 

The doors to the venue didn’t open until 5 p.m. 

‘It’s our community event,” Canario said. “All the officers contribute [to the police relief association] through their pay … and the way we give back is a community concert.”

Canario is the president of the Dartmouth Police Relief Association, which provides insurance and support to Dartmouth police officers. The association has thrown a concert for officers and the broader community every year since 2002, excluding the first year of Covid. 

The July 29 concert brought 90s rock band Full Tilt from New Bedford, who played modern classics like Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar, We’re Going Down” and Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle.”

While the event is ostensibly a fundraiser, Canario said it’s intended more as a safe, affordable, family-friendly community event. For that reason, they try to keep their food and drink prices low: waters and ice cream sandwiches were $1 and hot dogs were $3. 

“We put a lot of thought into our pricing,” he said. “Any profit we make goes back into the relief fund.”

Previously, the concert was held at UMass Dartmouth’s outdoor amphitheater, but the group switched to Stackhouse Fairgrounds in 2019. 

Donna Sylvia said she’s been coming since the amphitheater days because her neighbor’s a police officer and “it’s a good cause” to support. 

Heidi Greaves and Wyatt Marshall came for the first time this year after discovering the event on Facebook. They liked that the band was playing rock music, but also said they’ll go to “anything that’s outside.”

Larry Martin said he comes to support the police association, partially because his father was a Dartmouth police officer. 

“I’m a longtime Dartmouth resident, and I’m always interested in being part of events that support the police,” Martin said. “Dartmouth PD always has a safe, cooperative environment.”