Polk County
Living
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • July 1, 2015 7A
EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer file
Johnny Limbo and the Lugnuts play to a packed crowd at the Rotary Performing Arts Stage in Dallas at the last concert of the year. The band will wrap up the season again.
MUSIC FILLS THE AIR
Free entertainment heats up summer nights in Monmouth, Dallas, Independence
By Jolene Guzman and
Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
POLK COUNTY — It’s looking to
be an unusually warm summer,
and with the bands lined up for
summer music, it’s about to get
hotter.
Free entertainment is available
in Monmouth, Dallas and Inde-
pendence all summer, starting July
8 with Monmouth’s Music in the
Park in Main Street Park. Shows
start at 6:30 p.m.
“We love to see people come
downtown and have a great time,”
said Mark
F a n c e y,
M o n -
m o u t h’s
Movies start at
commu-
dusk, about 9:30
nity de-
p.m. in July and
velop-
8:30 p.m. in Au-
m e n t
gust at Riverview
manager.
Park and Am-
phitheater. Movies
“Between
are free.
t h e
July 9 — Malefi-
(splash)
cent – PG
fountain,
July 16 —
volleyball
When the Game
games
Stands Tall – PG
a n d
July 23 — Six-
music,
teen Candles – R
there was
July 30 — Up –
upward
PG
of 600
Aug. 6 — The
Hunger Games:
people
Mockingjay Part 1
last year
– PG-13
in the
Aug. 13 — Pa-
park on a
cific Rim – PG-13
Wednes-
Aug. 20 —
d a y
Guardians of the
night.”
Galaxy – PG-13
Each
Aug. 27 —
w
e
ek, a
Alexander and the
free raffle
Terrible, Horrible,
allows lis-
No Good, Very Bad
teners a
Day – PG
chance to
win
a
prize, such as items donated from
sponsors or CDs from the band,
Fancey said.
This year’s lineup kicks off with
local band Joe Shinkle and High-
way 99W singing country.
Fancey said he is looking for-
ward to the season, particularly the
Carried Away Trio, World’s Finest
and Coming Up Threes.
“World’s Finest is an eclectic
band,” Fancey said. “They play reg-
gae and bluegrass, almost all of it is
acoustic with horns.”
Movies:
Music in the
Park
All shows begin at 6:30 p.m.
on Wednesday, July 8-Aug. 26,
at Main Street Park. Music,
food, beer and wine garden.
July 8 — Joe Shinkle &
99West (country and western)
July 15 — Hillstomp (blues)
July 22 — Carried Away Trio
(jazz and blues)
July 29 — World’s Finest
(reggae and bluegrass)
Aug. 5 — Roseland Hunters
(New Orleans funk)
Aug. 12 — Student Loan
String Band (newgrass)
Aug. 19 — Ramble On (Led
Zepplin tribute band)
Aug. 26 — Coming Up
Threes (Celtic)
This is the first time Monmouth
has sponsored a cover band in the
lineup. Ramble On, a Led Zepplin
tribute band, will play the park on
Aug. 19.
“These are real community
events, with businesses involved and
people walking down and enjoying
music in the park,” Fancey said.
Sounds of Summer
Dallas’ Sounds of Summer will
be opening with a bluegrass band
and ending with Dallas tradition
Johnny Limbo & the Lugnuts. In
between, there’s all the variety you
could want from a summer con-
cert series.
“There is not a show I plan on
missing,” said series coordinator
Chelsea Metcalfe, of the Dallas Area
Visitors Center. “They all have a dif-
ferent feel, so I think it will go well.”
Metcalfe rediscovered opening
act Roundhouse Band at the Polk
County Folklife Festival. Wanting
to bring a bluegrass band to the se-
ries, she knew it had to be part of
Sounds of Summer.
Also new is Bearwater Band,
which played Summerfest 2014.
They will be playing Thursday night
of Summerfest week this year.
Sounds of Summer also will
have a new food vendor lineup,
with one food truck featured each
week. Confirmed vendors are El
Pique, Sweet Dreams (corn dogs
and funnel cakes), Black Rock
BBQ, and JT’s Food Truck (Cuban).
“I’m hoping with the food trucks
Photo courtesy of Ramble On
Ramble On, a Led Zepplin tribute band, will play in Monmouth’s Main Street Park on Aug. 19 as part of
Music in the Park.
(serving) by 5:30 or 5:45 p.m., peo-
ple will come down early, get din-
ner, grab their seat and stay for the
show,” Metcalfe said.
River’s Edge Summer Series
At the River’s Edge Summer Series,
in Independence Riverview Park and
Amphitheater, Thursday night
movies and Friday night concerts
rage through the hot summer nights.
Before the July 10 opening night,
featuring Ty Curtis, city officials
will celebrate the amphitheater’s
10th anniversary with a small cere-
mony and complimentary appe-
tizers, said River’s Edge organizer
Alex Trevino. The celebration will
take place at about 6:30 p.m., an
hour before the concert is sched-
uled to start.
Ty Curtis, blues, soul and rock ’n’
roll, is a huge favorite, Trevino said.
“It’s going to be one hell of a
show,” he noted. “We’ve got a really
high-octane lineup this year.”
With more cover bands — in-
cluding Shoot to Thrill, an AC/DC
cover band, and Jukebox Hero, a
Foreigner cover band — blues,
country and ’80s hits, the music at
River’s Edge is sure to please.
“My secret weapon, my surprise
show, is Dancehall Days,” Trevino
confided. Dancehall Days features
twin sisters and will perform for
New Year’s Eve in the Crystal Ball-
room, he added.
New and improved food ven-
dors, as well as expanded options
in the beer and wine area, will
make Friday nights in Independ-
ence even more spectacular.
“People can expect this year’s
concerts to be very energizing,”
Trevino said.
River’s Edge Movies
Thursday nights in Riverview
Park, the amphitheater truly turns
into the city’s living room, as hun-
dreds gather on the lawn to watch
a movie together.
In July, movies tend to start
around 9:30 p.m., whereas in Au-
gust, they begin closer to 8:30 p.m.
This year, Trevino said movies
range from Disney hits to action-
adventure.
“I like to throw in a motivational
movie,” he said. “This year’s moti-
vational movie is, ‘When the Game
Stands Tall.’”
River’s Edge summer movie se-
ries wouldn’t be the same without
a classic, either. This year, “Sixteen
Candles,” rated R, takes that spot
on July 23.
Blockbuster hits just out of the
theater like “Hunger Games:
Mockingjay Part 1” and “Guardians
of the Galaxy” will be shown in Au-
gust.
Although he said he will have a
hard time trying to duplicate the
amazing lightning display after
one of the movies last year, he does
have some tricks up his sleeve.
One evening, Trevino said he
will declare a blackout night, with
all the lights in the park turned off
until the movie begins.
“We’ll hand out 1,000 pieces of
neon things (glow-in-dark) and
light up the whole amphitheater
with neon,” he said.
River’s Edge Summer Music
Music starts at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays from July 3 through Aug. 28 in
Riverview Park and Amphitheater; $5 suggested donation. Concessions
and brewery/wine vendors open at 6 p.m.
July 3 — Appetite for Deception (Guns and Roses tribute)
July 10 — Ty Curtis, 10-year anniversary party (blues)
July 17 — Beth Willis (acoustic rock)
July 24 — Ted Vaughn Blues Band (blues/rock)
July 31— Jukebox Heroes (Foreigner tribute)
Aug. 7 — Dancehall Days
Aug. 14 — Twangshifters (rockabilly)
Aug. 21 — Chance McKinney (industrialized country)
Aug. 28 — Shoot to Thrill (AC/DC tribute)
Sounds of
Summer
Shows begin at 6:30 p.m. on
Thursdays, July 9-Aug. 27, at the
Rotary Performing Arts Stage at
the corner of Main and Academy
streets.
July 9 — Roundhouse Band
(bluegrass)
July 16 — Oregon Valley Boys
(Western swing)
July 23 — Bearwater Band
(Rock, Summerfest show)
July 30 — Gil Reynolds &
Deep Blue (bluesy rock)
Aug. 6 — Joe Shinkle &
99West (country)
Aug. 13 — Parish Gap (soft
rock)
Aug. 20 — Big Money (rock)
Aug. 27 — Johnny Limbo &
the Lugnuts (oldies)
Photo courtesy of Gil Reynolds
Photo courtesy of Ty Curtis
Gil Reynolds & Deep Blue will rock the Rotary Performing Arts Stage
on June 30 as part of Dallas’ Sounds of Summer.
Ty Curtis headlines the Riverview Park and Amphitheater’s 10th an-
niversary celebrations on July 10.