By: Ryan Duey
Belleville Chamber & Main Street is partnering with local groups throughout the summer for its inaugural ‘Belleville Beats’ concert series, with the first concert happening over Memorial Weekend.
Belleville will feature five different concerts through the summer during events including Alumni Weekend, Summer Bash, Autumn Fest, and more. Molly Springer, Chamber & Main Street Director, spoke about some of the upcoming concerts.
“The first concert we have is LIX, and that’s Memorial Weekend. Coming up on the 23rd of this month, and we’re piggybacking on that with Belleville Community Pride for the Alumni weekend. Then we are also piggybacking on a Polka band, and two more bands.”
“One concert is going to be a fundraiser for the Stucco for the school. The last one is what the Chamber’s going to put on, a group called the Higher Yields Band; that’s not till September to end our season.”
Concerts will take place either downtown in the grassy lot or at the Bandshell in the Park. Performers include LIX, the Barry Boyce Band, Manda Lyn & The Lost Boys, Rockin’ Redemption, and the Higher Yields Band.
Springer said most concerts will have food vendors, with some concerts happening during special events with added activities.
“The fourth concert that we’re going to have in August is going to be a fundraiser event for the high school Stucco at Republic County. They’re going to have a dinner fundraiser, and they’re going to have some games throughout the park.
That last concert will be on September 6th. We’ll have our Autumn Fest earlier that day. We’ll have games for the kids, maybe some other surprises coming up, so stay tuned for that.”
“There will be some additional activities with a couple of the concerts.”
Sponsorship is available, which greatly helps bring these live music events to the city. A public ‘Belleville Beats’ Facebook group has been created, featuring all the events happening throughout the summer. A full schedule of events and sponsorship opportunities can be found through the Facebook group.
