MUNCIE, Ind. — The city of Muncie is coming together through music as it continues to heal from a violent summer.

It has now been more than a month since a shooting at a street party killed one person and wounded 17 others. On Friday, some 2,000 people gathered in downtown Muncie for a free concert and a chance to unite.

Woof Boom Radio hosted the free concert. It is the radio station’s 10th anniversary. While the organization wanted to do something special to celebrate this milestone, it also wanted to help bring people together after a rather difficult summer.

“With some of the things that happened this past summer, there was a real need for people to work together and find ways to talk about things,” Woof Boom Radio President J Chapman said.

Chapman said the city still needed something to help heal any shock and horror still remaining from July’s shooting.

“The community and people here are resilient,” he described. “These kind of things happen in a lot of different places, but this community typically doesn’t let some of the challenges or struggles define them.”

Those who attended Friday’s concert said the show proves tragedy does not define this city.

“That was one bad thing that happened,” said Muncie resident and concert guest Felecia Rice. “And that can’t stop people from coming together and uniting as one.”

It has been a painful road, many say, but with healing and time comes progress.

“There’s still a lot to recover from,” said Muncie Mayor Dan Ridenour, a Republican. “But I’m very proud [how] we’ve come together. We’ve tried to figure out what we need to do as a community and I think we’re making some real headway.”

That headway includes the formation of a special task force, which involves several organizations that are all aimed at helping the city grow. One of those groups that helps add a unique perspective to the task force includes Real Black Excellence.

“It’s about restoring an aspect of community that has been torn away,” described Stephen Hargrave with Real Black Excellence. “But it’s also about addressing the issues that create those tragedies, and we feel like that comes again from a grassroots level.”

Overall, the mayor said Muncie has healed quite a bit since July’s shooting. He said he is confident the task force is going to continue helping the city grow and heal.