FAIRHOPE, Ala. — A strong south wind whipped the American flag at Fairhope Municipal Pier Park and dark clouds hovered, but the threat of stormy weather Thursday did not not deter an audience of almost 50 people who attended the first concert of the Fairhope Pier Players season.

The gathering of mostly amateur musicians, singers and fans has been a popular place for local residents to watch the sun set and listen to music once a week during the late spring and summer months for several years.

“This is one of Fairhope’s best kept secrets,” said Garland Sims, who was in the audience Thursday. “It’s turning out pretty good tonight. We’re trying to build it back up after the hurricanes.”

Most of the musicians who bring their guitars, mandolins, banjos, harmonicas and tambourines are from the Fairhope area, but one woman travels from Florida, bringing her accordion with her.

She was there for the first concert this week.

“Naomi Wolff comes all the way from Pensacola,” said Judy Singleton, one of the organizers of the event. “She can tear that accordion up.”

Singleton said she has been a regular visitor to the weekly concert since moving to Fairhope in 2001.

“I enjoyed going down to the pier, in those days, on Tuesday evenings,” she said. “I would take my lawn chair, listen to them play and watch the sun set. It was a relaxing time for me.”

She said she started singing with the group and became one of the organizers of the weekly event in the past few years.

“Everyone is invited to come down and join in,” she said. “We have books with the songs and words that we hand out.”

The twilight gathering of musicians at the pier started with a group of mainly dulcimer players, but other stringed instruments began joining the group. That dulcimer group called the Jubilee Pickers meets every week during the day at Homestead Village.

The Fairhope Pier Players start gathering at 5 p.m. and plays until sunset, Singleton said.

“We usually end with ‘Amazing Grace’ as the sun goes down.”

One of the other regular members of the group plays a number of instruments, including guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, as well as the piano and keyboards.

“I’ve got a mandolin that my grandfather bought me when I was nine for nine dollars from Sears Roebuck,” said H.L. Hill. “It just came natural to me. The good Lord gave me a gift, and that’s what I use if for.”

Singleton said the Fairhope Pier Players include a number of musicians, some who have been professional and others who just like to sing along. Some of the regular members include Sanford and Betty Miller and Will Bozeman.

The size of the crowd varies from several dozen to more than a 100, she said.

“Whatever the audience wants to hear, we’ll play,” Hill said. “We don’t have a planned program. We just strike out on it. We’re not bashful, I’ll tell you that.”

For more information, or if you want to participate as a musician, call Judy Singleton at 209-3390.