2013 Summer Music Series announced

VW County Foundation news

For those area residents looking for something to do on Friday nights this summer, The Van Wert County Foundation has some great suggestions, starting the first weekend in June.

Paul Hoverman, performing arts coordinator for the foundation, released on Wednesday the performers for the 11th annual Fountain Park Summer Music Series. In cooperation with the Van Wert City Parks & Recreation, these outdoor concerts are offered most Fridays throughout the summer and are free and open to the public. All concerts are funded with a gift from the Saltzgaber Music Fund of The Van Wert County Foundation. Concerts begin at 7 p.m. and the public is encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets to enjoy the concerts.

This year’s music series begins with long-time favorite Phil Dirt & the Dozers returning to the park to help celebrate the Peony Festival/ArtRageous weekend on Friday night, June 7. Due to popular demand, one of the summer music series’ favorites, as well as America’s premier “Rock ‘N Roll oldies” review (and the most popular vintage rock and roll show in the nation) will help area residents recapture those wonderful days of classic rock ‘n roll! With their musical talent, high energy and contagious sense of humor, Phil Dirt & The Dozers will transport the audience to another time and place … namely, the Fifties, Sixties, and Seventies eras of Rock ‘N Roll: a perfect fit for the kick-off to the summer celebrations.

After a week off, the best of Seventies’ classic rock comes to Fountain Park with Bostyx … a great, family-friendly addition to any summer classic rock festival or concerts in the park series. Bostyx is the ultimate 1970s feel-good classic rock tribute to the music of rock supergroups Boston and Styx, featuring amazing, live vocal harmonies sure to be a hit with crowds of all ages. Lead singer and guitarist David Victor actually plays with Boston currently, but is planning to be in Van Wert with Bostyx. It will be a celebration of the Seventies and Eighties in Fountain Park on June 21 as area residents enjoy some of those great songs, including, “More than a Feeling”, “Don’t Look Back”, “Lady”, “Come, Sail Away”, “Babe”, and “Show me the Way”.

To help welcome the Lincoln Highway Antique Car Show, which will drive right down Van Wert’s Main Street, the Toledo Jazz Orchestra, with a special guest vocalist, will pay tribute to the sounds of the Big Band Era. On June 28, concertgoers will relive those wonderful sounds and songs from the Glenn Miller Orchestra and Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, Woody Herman, and Stan Kenton bands. People can also bring those ballroom dancing shoes to dance the night away with some of the best ballads and swing tunes ever written, including “Mood Indigo”, “Woodchopper’s Ball”, “In the Mood”, and so much more.

The big Fourth of July celebration will actually be on Friday, July 5, to create a long weekend when the best of the Pops return to the park. Although last year’s Lima Symphony Pops Orchestra concert was cancelled due to the storm that took power out throughout the area for up to a week, Van Wert’s “Holiday at Home” celebration will be in full stride as the city welcomes the pop sounds of America back to the park as only the Lima Symphony Orchestra can deliver. It’s always a big crowd pleaser!

The next week will be filled with the sounds of the Van Wert Area Concert Band on July 12. This community band, under the direction of Richard Sherrick, has been gaining musical momentum over the past several years and will be gearing up for an exciting and entertaining concert. You can also hear this local band in the park on May 24 and again on August 16.

Next up in the music series is Minute by Minute, a band that pays tribute to the music of the Doobie Brothers and Michael McDonald. The show will feature music from this Grammy Award-winning band, including “Listen to the Music”, “China Grove”, “Minute by Minute” and so much more! It will be a memorable concert on Friday night, July 19, with those great songs and sounds of the Doobie Brothers.

The following week, July 26, Ted Vigil will return to Van Wert from the state of Oregon. Vigil, who will be performing this year with long-time John Denver band guitarist Steve Weisberg, will make area residents literally think they are seeing and hearing John Denver, himself. Since performing in Van Wert a few years back, Vigil has gone on to new heights with his “Rocky Mountain Tribute to John Denver”. Local residents will love recalling the great music of one of the most memorable performers of all-time: John Denver.

After taking a week off, the music series returns for the Fountain Park finale when The Ides of March featuring Jim Peterik come to town.

With its signature horn riff and opening line, “I’m a friendly stranger in the black sedan…”, The Ides of March’s “Vehicle” burst onto the Billboard charts and became the fastest breaking single in Warner Bros. history! The group’s show spans three decades of music that includes Jim Peterik’s catalog of Top 40 hits, including “Eye of the Tiger”, “L.A. Goodbye”, “Vehicle”, “Hold on Loosely” and much more.