Summertime by George! Kicks Off Its 15th Season Wednesday with a Hometown Headliner

(KNSI) – The sound of summer returns to downtown St. Cloud this Wednesday, June 17th, when Summertime by George! flips the switch on its 15th season at Lake George.

Nine straight Wednesdays of free live music start at 5:30 p.m. and run until 9:00 p.m., and opening night leans hard into local roots.

First up for the season are The Locals, the 5:30 p.m. opener and an acoustic trio with more than eight years of playing together. Bennett Vee, Maggie Petron and Katie Poetz cover a little of everything, sliding from classic hits to modern favorites on tight three-part harmonies.

Then at 7:00 p.m., the headliner keeps it in the family. The Killer Vees are Jeff, Tommy, Matt and Bennett Vee, the sons, nephew and grandson of legendary ’60s pop star Bobby Vee. The Vee family has been a fixture of the central Minnesota music scene for decades, and the band has spent close to 40 years on stages around the world. Their resume reads like a rock-and-roll yearbook, with shared bills and studio time alongside the likes of Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Paul McCartney, Chuck Berry and Brian Setzer. If you keep score, you’ll notice Bennett Vee pulls double duty, opening with The Locals and closing with the family band.

The music is only part of the night. The Middle Town Market sets up near the lake each week with everything from smoky BBQ and fresh sandwiches to sweets, hand-crafted artistry and one-of-a-kind merchandise. Eastman Tavern, just west of the stage, pours craft and domestic beer, wine and snacks, and this year you can sip and stroll anywhere inside the park, as long as your drink came from an SBG tavern or mini pub. Leave the coolers at home. Families have their own corner too: the Little Georgetown area runs free, well-staffed activities and arts and crafts so the kids can burn off energy while the grown-ups catch the show.

It all benefits the community. The event is entirely volunteer-run by the Rotary Club of St. Cloud, and 100% of beverage proceeds go toward local projects, with net proceeds from popcorn, beer, wine, t-shirts and raffle tickets flowing into the Club’s nonprofit foundation. That money has helped fund the LSS Youth Resource Center, the Community Outpost on the city’s south side, the Preschool 4 Success partnership with District 742, and even international water and building projects in the Dominican Republic.

Not bad for an idea that started as a sketch on a napkin. When Summertime by George! debuted in 2011, organizers hoped to draw 500 people. That first night pulled in 2,000, and the event has only grown since. Organizers say it now averages more than 10,000 people in the park every Wednesday and has topped 1.2 million attendees all-time. Its success has even inspired copycat events in Willmar, Excelsior and Alexandria.

Here’s how the rest of the summer shapes up, with headliners at 7:00 p.m. and openers at 5:30 p.m.:

June 24th: The Fabulous Armadillos – What’s Going On? Music of the Vietnam Era / Andy Austin

July 1st: Going to the Sun / 200′ Away

July 8th: Janelle Kendall’s Perfect Storm / Airborne Attraction

July 15th: Church of Cash / Mitch Gordon

July 22nd: Michael Shynes & The Long Way Home / Kat Blue with Special Guest Maggie Petron

July 29th: Collective Unconscious / Groovy Shoes

August 5th: Pamela McNeill – Janis, Dolly, Stevie and Me / Harper’s Chord

August 12th: The Fabulous Armadillos / Mel & Glen

Admission, as always, is free.

___