Summer Swing offers free music, lemonade and fun

By Beverly Harvey

Published: May 7, 2008

The banks of Rocky Brook Creek will soon be lined with people, and Municipal Park in Opelika will be filled with the sounds of music - from Broadway hits to Southern gospel - during the 2008 Summer Swing free concert series.

The weekly series, hosted by Opelika Parks and Recreation Department, begins Tuesday and will be held at 7 p.m. every Tuesday at Municipal Park until Aug. 12, except during the week of
July 4.

The series will feature artists performing a variety of musical genres - country, classical, dance, soul, R&B, folk, rock-and-roll, Southern gospel, Broadway hits and, of course, swing.

Opelika Parks and Recreation Special Activities Coordinator Barbara Kent likened the different styles of music offered at Summer Swing to the weather.

“If you don’t like it this week, stick around, because next week it will be totally different,” Kent said.

Summer Swing attendees are invited to bring a blanket or lawn chair to enjoy the concerts. In the more than 20 years since it began, the event has attracted people of all ages, Kent said.

Opelika High School Band Boosters will begin selling hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, drinks and homemade ice cream around 6:30 p.m. at each concert.

The summer concert series is an annual fundraiser for the high school organization.

First American Bank will provide free lemonade at the concerts, and the Opelika Chamber of Commerce will be providing fans, Kent said.

Children and adults can ride the newly-repaired Rocky Brook Rocket for free at the park each night during the series.

“You can come out and enjoy the music, the train and the lemonade and not spend a penny,” Kent said.

The 2008 Summer Swing series begins this Tuesday with a performance by the Lee-Scott Academy jazz band. More than 1,000 people have attended some of the previous Summer Swing concerts, Kent said.

“There are nights out there where you can’t see a blade of grass,” she said.

If you go:

- May 13, Lee-Scott Academy Jazz Band - swing, rock, swing, jazz

- May 20, Opelika High School Jazz Ensemble - swing, jazz rock, jazz

- May 27, Southeast Alabama Community Band, 58-member band led by Troy University Band Director Emeritus Dr. Johnny Long - marches, Broadway hits, classical

- June 3, Route 66 - oldies, pop, rock, dance

- June 10, “Elvis Lives” concert by Elvis impersonator Bill J. Brooks - Elvis Presley hits

- June 17, The Cornerstone Band; Sons of Asaph - contemporary Christian music

- June 24, Kidd Blue - soul, R&B, rock-and-roll, 1980s hits

- July 8, Crossroads - classic rock, contemporary hits, country, folk

- July 15, Muse - easy listening, acoustic soft rock

- July 22, Auburn University Summer Concert Band led by AU Director of Bands Dr. Rick Good - marches, overtures, Broadway hits

- July 29, Fred Jones; The Good News Trio - Southern gospel

- Aug. 5, Martha’s Trouble - alternative, pop, folk rock

- Aug. 12, Route 66’s “Back-to-school Bash” - oldies, rock, dance