Tribune Staff Writer
Break out the lawn chairs and get ready to dance in the streets as Seymour CityJam kicks off its third season this summer.
The free, live downtown concert series benefits Southern Indiana Center for the Arts and brings the community together for four nights of music-loving fun.
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This year’s performers will be Jayne Bond and the Pink Martinis, Terry Lee and the Rockaboogie Band, Sounds of Summer and Old Salt Union.
CityJam is a street party on East Second Street between the railroad and Ewing Street. Sponsors include Jay C Food Stores, JCB, Seymour Crossing/Senior Communities and The Tribune.
Concerts start at 6 p.m., but people can come early at 5:30 p.m. to enjoy food from The Pines, beer and wine from Bartholomew County Beverage and, new this year, frozen yogurt from Orange Leaf.
Darnell Dukes, the new executive director of SICA, said CityJam has been a great fundraiser and a great way to get the word out about what the arts center offers, including summer art camps for youth, ballet classes, private art lessons and instructional art classes, festivals and a public gallery for displaying local artists’ work.
“CityJam has been very well-received, and we are pleased with our sponsors, vendors and everyone that comes out to support us,” she said.
Although she’s new to her position, Dukes is no stranger to CityJam and has been involved with the concerts both years.
“I like the fact that it’s outdoors and it brings people in the community together in the downtown,” she said. “It’s a time for people to come together and have a good time. You can come after work and wind down the workweek.”
Dukes is familiar with some of this year’s lineup, but others are new to her.
“I’m very excited because these groups came highly recommended,” she said.
Jayne Bond and the Pink Martinis will get the party started at 6 p.m. June 18, playing a high-energy show featuring a wide variety of hits from 1950s sock hop to cutting-edge hits of today.
They incorporate colorful costumes and high-energy choreography into their shows and get the audience involved in dance contests, hula hoop contests, conga lines and live karaoke.
Since 1997, the band has performed all over the U.S. and in the Caribbean at corporate parties, festivals, conventions, wedding receptions and other special events.
Well-known in Seymour, the band has performed at SICA’s annual Artful Affair auction the past two years and at Oktoberfest.
On July 16, Terry Lee and the Rockaboogie Band will take the CityJam stage to put on a show built around the lightning-fast, piano-pumping, Rockaboogie playing of Terry Lee.
Originally from London, Lee and his band perform a large selection of popular hits from the 1950s and 1960s that are sure to keep dancers on their feet and the crowd entertained.
The band also is well-known in Seymour, having played at the annual Cars and Guitars Car Show in downtown Seymour on more than one occasion.
As summer heats up, so will CityJam as Sounds of Summer, a Beach Boys tribute band, will take the stage Aug. 20.
Hailing from North Vernon, the four-member band was raised on the sweet-with-a-beat sound of 1960s rock ‘n’ roll, including The Beach Boys, The Beatles and the Eagles.
They spent seven years playing gigs in the Midwest and in the summer of 2012 formed the tribute band due to their shared love of The Beach Boys.
After months of studying and rehearsing more than two dozen of The Beach Boys’ greatest hits, they started booking shows as Sounds of Summer.
Sounds of Summer has been featured at SICA’s annual Friday Night Live outdoor concert series and at the Jackson County Fair.
“Tribute bands seem to be a crowd favorite, so when someone recommended Sounds of Summer, we knew we had to book them,” Dukes said. “This young band has perfected The Beach Boys sound — from the music to the vocals.”
The final CityJam concert will be Sept. 17 and will feature Old Salt Union, a contemporary bluegrass band.
“Old Salt Union was recommended by a downtown businessman who had heard them in Florida at a songwriter’s festival,” Dukes said.
Established in May 2012, Old Salt Union recorded its debut album, “Western Skies,” in October of that year. The album was independently released in March 2013, and their fan base grew rapidly in the following months.
In January 2014, the band began touring the country to expose more fans to their type of music and released their second studio album, “Bridge,” last August.
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Seymour CityJam will stage four outdoor concerts this summer.
Performers will be Jayne Bond and the Pink Martinis (June 18), Terry Lee and the Rockaboogie Band (July 16), Sounds of Summer (Aug. 20) and Old Salt Union (Sept. 17).
The concerts will take place on Second Street between Indianapolis Avenue and Ewing Street.
Financial sponsors are JCB, Jay C Food Stores, Seymour Crossing and The Tribune.
The concerts will benefit Southern Indiana Center for the Arts.
Admission is free.
Food, drinks and desserts will be available to purchase from The Pines, Bartholomew County Beverage and Orange Leaf.
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