by After a successful debut in 2013, the Downtown Summer Nights Concert Series is bringing even more music to Downtown Yakima this year. This season the popular series will include more performers each show and will last about an hour longer than it did last year.
Sponsored by Stewart Subaru and produced by the City of Yakima and Townsquare Media, the free and family-friendly Downtown Summer Nights series will run from June 12th through August 21st and will feature multiple performers every Thursday night on 4th Street behind the Capitol Theatre. All shows will begin at 5:00 pm and last until about 9:00 pm.
The 11-show series will get underway on June 12th with Northwest favorites Cody Beebe & The Crooks, Seattle-based Sammy Witness & The Reassignment, and Fall Days, a band from Western Washington made up of young musicians. The June 19th show will feature the popular Yogoman Burning Band, Village, a band originally from Yakima which is now becoming known worldwide, and the Americana sounds of Bradford Loomis. On June 26th, the folk/rock/Americana group Jeff Crosby & The Refugees will take to the Downtown Summer Nights stage along with soul/folk band The Wicks, and singer/songwriter Nick Foster.
On July 3rd, Portland-based blues/rock performers Tango Alpha Tango will be featured, as will Yakima favorite Shoot Jake and Olivia de la Cruz and her lyrical take on soul and rock music. July 10th will bring country foursome Aces Up to Yakima from Enumclaw along with honky-tonk band Sam Platts and the Kootenai Three from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and will also feature Yakima’s own Zach Hinson, who last year competed on NBC’s The Voice. Northwest funk/soul group Snug Harbor will head up the July 17th show and will be joined by Tim Snider and Caio Andreatta, who play an eclectic blend of music, and Redwood Sun, an Americana/West Coast/rock roots band from Portland. The Downtown Summer Nights performance on July 24th will include the unconventional pop music of Ben Union, alternative band Rags and Ribbons, and Seattle singer/songwriter Tommy Simmons. The month will be closed out by folk/rock group Vaudeville Etiquette, Planes on Paper (the duo of Navid Elliot and Jen Borst), and contemporary singer/songwriter Shane Alexander on July 31st.
The funk and jazz of McTuff, along with the rock n’ roll of Whiskey Syndicate and the Americana of The Common Deer will fill 4th Street on August 7th. American Rock band Massy Ferguson, good-time rock n’ roll band Root Jack, and the highly energetic and engaging performers of NoRey will be featured on August 14th. The series will end its 2014 run with instrumentalist Blake Noble, Ellensburg’s Open Country Joy, and Hey! Is For Horses from Spokane on August 21st.
Food vendors, a beer and wine garden, and kid’s activities provided by Yakima Maker Space will also be part of the Downtown Summer Nights events.
The Downtown Summer Nights website – www.downtownsummernights.com – includes a complete list of musical performers, information about how vendors can sign up for booth space, and other news about the series. Economic Development Manager Sean Hawkins can also be contacted by phone (575-6274) or by e-mail ([email protected]) by anyone wanting to learn more about the Downtown Summer Nights concert series.
