Summer concert series returns to Poway
POWAY -- Area residents eager to kick back and enjoy the longsunny days of summer will have an excuse to do so later this month,when the city launches a round of free concerts.
The Target Summer Concert in the Parks series will get under wayJune 27 when vintage rock ‘n roll band The Corvettes performs atLake Poway.
Seven more free concerts featuring a variety of musical styleswill follow nearly every Sunday evening, through Aug. 22. The 5:30p.m. events will alternate between the lake and Old Poway Park.
Sponsored by the local Target store, the series continues atradition established 13 years ago. On Thursday, city recreationsupervisors and concert organizers Sean Rauch and Karin Pekaladescribed the performances as extremely popular.
“At the lake last year, we filled every parking spaceavailable,” Rauch said. “People had to park down at the bottom ofthe hill too, in the backup parking lot.”
Word of the event’s reputation has also reached would-beperformers, who start contacting the city months in advance inhopes of getting picked for the lineup. Other bands are invited toapply for the series after Pekala or Rauch hear them perform atfairs or get a recommendation from the Poway Chamber of Commerce orother organizations.
“We ask them to mail in their demo CDs and a promo package, andthen we just take an afternoon and sit and listen to them,” Pekalasaid of the bands that apply. “And then we take a look at theschedule and shift through them, picking the ones we think peoplewill want to hear.”
About half the 2004 Summer Concert Series lineup consists ofbands that attracted the largest audiences during last year’sseries. Those include the Tami Thomas Big Band, which specializesin swing, jump and jive music, and the Big Mo Band, whichentertains audiences with jazz and funk.
The rest of the schedule was filled in with performers new tothe series, by design.
“We want to encourage people to come on out even if they’ve comebefore, because we have a lot of new, fresh bands in the lineupthat they haven’t heard before,” Pekala said. “It’s a lot of fun,they’re free for all ages, and it’s a very enjoyable way to spendyour Sunday evening.”
Chairs and picnic meals are welcome at the concerts, which willlast an hour and a half. Nonresidents who arrive before 5 p.m. onweekends at Lake Poway must pay a $4 parking fee.
The lake is at 14644 Lake Poway Road, and Old Poway Park is at14134 Midland Road. For information about concerts, call the lakeat (858) 668-4770 or the park at (858) 668-4576.
Summer Concert Series
June 27: Lake Poway, The Corvettes (vintage rock ‘n roll)
July 11: Old Poway Park, Second Avenue Dixieland Jazz Band(Dixieland jazz)
July 18: Lake Poway, Nitro (country rock)
July 25: Old Poway Park, Tami Thomas Big Band (swing, jump andjive)
Aug. 1: Lake Poway, Bayou Brothers (Cajun zydeco)
Aug. 8: Old Poway Park, The Big Mo Band (jazz & funk)
Aug. 15: Lake Poway, The Fabulous Ultratones (classic rock, soul& contemporary)
Aug. 22: Old Poway Park, Mark Jackson (traditional country &honky tonk)
Contact staff writer Andrea Moss at (760) 739-6654 oramoss@nctimes.com.