12:45pm | The Summer and Music series: So nice, this weekend they’re doing it twice!
The series of live performances is only in its second year, but this summer has picked up considerable steam with last week’s Roots & Blues show and others like it. Huge crowds have been drawn downtown to see some truly remarkable artists performing live. This weekend, SAM is prepared to do it again with Swing Saturday and the Battle Of The Tribute Bands.
Swing Saturday will offer prizes, free swing lessons and the sounds of Eddie Nichols and more in the East Village. The solar-powered, outdoor stage will be rockin’ from 5:00-9:00pm at 3rd Street & Long Beach Blvd. Click here to RSVP and find more information on the event’s Facebook page.
Sunday will see one of last year’s most popular events, the Battle Of The Tribute Bands at Rainbow Harbor. Bands channeling the spirits of Blondie, Van Halen, Def Leppard and more will “sing their faces off” according to a SAM press release. It’s a tightly contested competition with high spirits all around (the Stefano’s Pizza beer and margarita garden may have something to do with that).
“We put this show together to celebrate some music we love, primarily music by bands that have either moved on to playing huge venues or selling pizza by the slice,” said Rand Foster, SAM co-founder and owner of Fingerprints record store in Belmont Shore.
“The tribute bands do an amazing job of capturing all of the excitement of the original, with a slightly wonky, somewhat askew quality that makes it not only seem their own, but makes it charming in a way that seeing the original could never approach.”
The Battle of the Tribute Bands will be held from 1:00-6:00pm this Sunday at the intersection of Pine Avenue & Shoreline Drive. Click here to RSVP and find more information on the event’s Facebook page.
Disclosure: Summer and Music is an advertiser of the lbpost.com.