Point Loma Summer Concerts kick off in July with Fleetwood MAX

The 22nd annual Point Loma Summer Concerts are back for another fabulous season of five free shows on consecutive Fridays at Point Loma Community Park, at 1055 Catalina Blvd.

Junior bands kick off the concerts at 5:30 p.m. with headliners at 6:30 p.m. There is entertainment for all ages, a raffle benefiting school music programs, and great food vendors.

Bring your lawn chairs, blankets, and picnic baskets for an enjoyable evening under the stars with your family and neighbors.

The concert series was founded by Bridget Cantu Wear, wife of former City Councilmember Byron Wear of Point Loma. In its inaugural season, the Point Loma Summer Concerts series was sponsored by the community’s Chamber of Commerce. The Point Loma Association then picked up sponsorship of the event a year later.

The Point Loma Summer Concerts are presented by an all-volunteer committee who are seeking sponsors and volunteers to help continue this great community tradition.

Eleanor Snyder, a longtime summer concerts board member and this year’s chairperson, is replacing Kerri De Rosier, who retired after terming out from the Point Loma Summer Concerts board in January.

Snyder said of how bands are picked for each summer’s concert series: “We have a policy of not wanting groups to do more than two concert series back-to-back. We want to give everybody a chance. And there are so many groups out there that are just fantastic.”

Snyder noted Point Loma Summer Concerts’ director of bands, Clint Bruce, works for year-long vetting bands at their concerts to whittle down each year’s band list to achieve “a good mix.”

The concert chair pointed out last year’s summer band theme involved bands representing decades from the 1940s to the 1980s, with cover bands for The Beatles and The Stones squaring off against one another in a ’60s concert clash.

“This year, we’re bringing back Big Time Operators, real crowd-pleasers, for the generation before the Boomers, specifically for that generation,” noted Snyder adding the concerts are trying to appeal to as many age demographics as possible.

“Big Time Operators gets a whole younger generation out there dancing with grandma and grandpa,” she noted adding, “We want to make the concerts user-friendly. It’s a community event and we also pride ourselves on being an all-volunteer event.”

Snyder encouraged concert attendees to purchase raffle tickets noting sponsors pay for concert costs, while funding for local music education comes largely from raffle proceeds.

Concerning concert behavior and cleanliness, Snyder said expectations are simple. “Think of it as your family picnic, and you pick up your trash, just like you would at home,” she said.

CONCERT SCHEDULE

July 12 – Fleetwood MAX (Fleetwood Mac tribute band)

July 19 – Big Time Operator (Big Band Orchestra)

July 26 – D.S.B. (Journey tribute band)

Aug. 2 – Billy Nation (Billy Joel tribute band)

Aug. 9 – The Pine Mountain Logs (best cover band ever)

For more information, visit pointlomasummerconcerts.org.