Pontiac Rockin’ at the River Concert Series

 

Reposted from Pontiac Daily Leader

By Erich Murphy

For a small town, in fact maybe micro in size when some places like Peoria and Bloomington-Normal are considered “small,” there seems to be a lot going on in Pontiac this summer.

What this means is that the old adage of “there’s nothing to do” simply does not apply.

The headliner event is the Rockin’ at the River concert series. It began in 2019 and even COVID couldn’t quash it. Matthew Curry will be kicking off the fifth season with his blues guitar stylings on June 1 at Humiston-Riverside Park.

Tourism Director Liz Vincent said this will be the fourth full season of the series, but noted that there was one concert held in 2020. One of the things that really makes the series a success is the different types of acts that perform.

“One of the things I’m really intentional about is being very diverse and the tastes and type of music to really help expose the community to different genres and types of music that the might not typically be exposed to,” Vincent said in a recent interview with the Daily Leader.

This year’s lineup includes favorites such blues, rockabilly, country. But there are also a couple of genres folks might not be used to hearing, especially in these parts. There will be a zydeco group and a polka band performing this year.

There have been some changes to the concert series since its beginning. For one, there is no longer an opening act. Vincent pointed out that there is a logistical issue with having two different groups and their respective equipment.

“We still haven’t started doing that again, and I don’t think we will,” Vincent said of the warmup band approach. “We’ve been having the shows 7-9, typically; some of them start a little earlier. We like to have activities — food, games, that sort of thing — starting around 6. That kind of gives people a reason to get out earlier. They get comfortable, watch the band and then they’re home in bed (and ready) for work the next day.”

A couple different venders have helped make this a successful activity, including the Kiwanis Club, Vincent said. She added that Wally’s will have a food stand this year and 66 Licks has set up the past few years and is returning.

“We’ll update at downtownpontiacil.com and our Facebook page, which is Rockin’ at the River, if there are any changes,” Vincent said.

Vincent said there will be giant yard games and, depending on the weather, the city will try to have the splash pad open later on concert nights.

“It’s a good idea for people to make a plan,” Vincent added. “They can come out, have dinner and chill after work and enjoy the show.”

Helping make this possible is the support from groups from around the area. Vincent said that the event has received support from the Illinois Prairie Community Foundation since 2020. Grant funding is received by this organization because diversity is a big part and it’s free. Plus, location makes it quite accessible to much of the community, Vincent said.

“When we first started this, we were funded through our electrical aggregation,” Vincent added. “We don’t have that funding anymore so we started looking for sponsorships, just putting out to community businesses and I have to say the response has been overwhelming. I think that’s really cool, especially coming out of COVID and everything businesses had gone through.”

The Platinum Sponsors for the project are Boldt Home Improvement, Heartland Community College-Pontiac, Streator Onized Credit Union, and grants from Yost Trust and Illinois Prairie Community Foundation. Vincent noted there are also sponsorships at various levels and more continue to take part.

The concert series will have seven shows beginning with Matthew Curry (June 1) and continuing through the summer until Sept. 16, which will feature Rosie and the Rivets, a 1950s-60s band that played at the city’s Independence Day event a couple years ago.

“The final show is our summer sendoff and is in conjunction with GTO Weekend and the final Cruise Night of the year. It’s a longer event,” Vincent said. “The band will start at 6 and play until 9.”

What is in between will be an eclectic serving of a different types of music. Among the unique groups will be Creole Stomp and Sergeant Sauerkraut’s Polka Band. Creole Stomp (July 13) is a zydeco band. The leader is from southern Illinois but has lived in Louisiana. With this band, it would seem like a good night for a shrimp boil.

Vincent said that Sergeant Sauerkraut’s Polka Band (Aug. 24) is just that, a polka band. The difference, she pointed out, is that this group does Beatles covers She said there are videos of the band that can be seen online.

“Even if people aren’t necessarily going to it thinking, ‘Oh, I love this type of music,’ we’ve always had good feedback at the end of it,” Vincent said.

Also on the summer lineup board will be Union Avenue, a rockabilly band that will perform June 17; Raquel and the Wildflowers, a country band from New York state that is touring the Midwest and will stop here on Aug. 12. Vincent said this group plays a lot of its own music.

Threshermen’s weekend will include Fox Crossing Stringband on Sept. 1. This is an all-female traditional bluegrass group. Vincent said the group plays at festivals all over Midwest and feels this is a good complement to the Threshermen’s Reunion.

Should bad weather create an issue for the outdoor setting, Vincent said there is a backup plan, which is to have the concert at the Eagle Theater. Vincent said that this is an added bonus for getting bands, adding that outdoor festivals can be an issue when the weather does not cooperate.

As for what might be coming up in the future. Vincent said she’s on top of that, too.

“I keep a list of recommendations that people have given me,” Vincent said. “I always watch lineups of different festivals and other events going on throughout the Midwest. I see what catches my eye.

“Some will come to me and say they will be in the area. It’s a wide variety of different ways but I’m working on this all year around.”

For more information or if there are questions, visit the website downtownpontiacil.com.

What else is taking place this summer, one might ask. There will be the annual Municipal Band Summer Concert series on Friday nights at the band shell, weather permitting, from June 2-July 21. The Farmers Market will take place downtown every Saturday from June through October.

And, the Summer on the Park theater season of the Vermillion Players will have three plays at Chautauqua Park — Beauty and the Beast (June 14-18), Mary Poppins Jr. (July 12-16) and A Few Good Men (Aug. 3-6).

Illinois Prairie Community Foundation awarded a Mirza/Arts & Culture Grant to the City of Pontiac to help fund this program. If you would like to support programs like this, donate online.