Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce Announces Riverwalk Summer Concert Series Lineup

Mount Vernon, WA – Dust off your lawn chairs and your picnic gear and come to Historic Downtown Mount Vernon for some memorable summer evenings!

The City of Mount Vernon and the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce are proud to announce the 2016 Riverwalk Summer Concert Series.

The concerts will be held every Thursday night beginning July 7 into the first week of September on the Mount Vernon Riverwalk Plaza.

The two hour concerts will begin at 6:00pm and feature a mix of family-friendly local and regional artists.

“This signature event for the Chamber of Commerce will be an opportunity for the business and arts community to join together to celebrate the fantastic community that is Mount Vernon,” said Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Andy Mayer.

2015, our inaugural year, brought 400+ people each Thursday to the Riverwalk for popular acts such as Rabbit Wilde, Chris Eger Band, Bobby Holland and the Breadline, and many more! We expect even better attendance this year.

The concerts offer a free, family-friendly, fun atmosphere to encourage visitors and entertain residents. The venue is perfectly situated by the river and adjacent to downtown retail and restaurants. Based on last year’s attendance, we expect to welcome 3,600+ people into the downtown core during the entire series. The Riverwalk Summer Concert Series is free thanks to generous community sponsors. Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. – Tyee Capital Management, Shell Puget Sound Refinery, the Mount Vernon Downtown Association, and the Mount Vernon Marketing Consortium. From foot-tapping blues, to old-time rock and roll music, the Riverwalk Concerts will be a great way to start to wind down your week or jump -start a fun-filled weekend. Bring your lawn chairs, a blanket, a picnic, and the whole family.

This event highlights an expansive venue, the Mount Vernon Riverwalk, a $12 million flood control and economic development project that has been almost 10 years in the making.

“Public access to the waterfront is an important goal of our city,” notes Mount Vernon Mayor Jill Boudreau. “We recognized that family-friendly free concerts are a great opportunity to connect the community to the waterfront and our historic downtown.”

Riverwalk Summer Concert Series 2016 Lineup

July 7: Chris Eger Band and the Powerhouse Horns

“Very few musicians are said to be extraordinary examples of excellence in any one genre of music. Even fewer can be called exceptional across multiple. When considering Chris Eger fits into the latter category as both a guitarist AND vocalist, it is no doubt an especially rare gift. From Rock and Blues, to Country, Funk and Soul, The Chris Eger Band is: REAL. AMERICAN. MUSIC.”

July 14: Rivertalk 

“RIVERTALK has been a part of the Skagit Valley for over twenty years. We play a sophisticated, eclectic mix of original songs and old favorites in the style of World Beat with many different rhythms from around the world. We write and play songs that are positive and express the importance of a community connected to the beautiful land we live in. We deliver an experience of joy and excitement with our music and it encourages dancing, movement, expression of any kind. Come out and feel the beat, the power that is RIVERTALK.”

July 21: Rabbit Wilde

“Rabbit Wilde captures the wind, the streams and the mountain air in their songs. Their beautiful vocal harmonies take you down a well-beaten path in the wilderness accompanied by rhythm and melodies from the classic Americana folk instrument family…This quartet of incredible musicians have lassoed the Northwest spirit and infused it into their own brand of storytelling lyrics and deep and passionate hearts for the land they grew up in.”

July 28: Geoffrey Castle Trio

“Geoffrey Castle is a pioneer on the electric six-string violin. From his beginnings as a street musician in New York City and Paris, he rose to play in the Tony Award winning Broadway production of M. Butterfly. A theme of Castle’s career is to destroy people’s pre-conceived notions of what is possible on a violin, which he does every time he takes the stage. A bandleader and solo artist—with several critically acclaimed releases on his own Twisted Fiddle Music label—Geoffrey Castle has also managed to share stages with an illustrious group of musicians including Blues Traveler, all of the original and current members of Heart, Buddy Miles, and Alan White of Yes.”

August 4: Bobby Holland and the Breadline

“Led by guitarist Bob Holland and featuring former world harmonica champion and current Washington Blues Society “Best Harmonica” winner, Jim McLaughlin, the band “Bobby Holland and the Breadline” features top notch musicianship, four part harmony and a catalog of excellent original material which they combine with their own unique interpretations of standards. Along the way they deliver first rate original material from the songwriting team of Bob Holland and Rick Star.”

August 11: Knut Bell and the Blue Collars

“Legendary Skagit Country artist Knut Bell appears with his band, The Blue Collars, consisting of Grady Shawver (Lead Electric Guitar), Ken Chalupnik (Electric Bass), Dave Bush (Drums) and Knut Bell (Vocals, Acoustic Guitar). The band performs Country, Americana and what Knut likes to call Honkahillarockabilly.”

August 18: Polecat

“Formed in Bellingham, Washington in Spring 2010, Polecat has traveled all over Northwest U.S., performing over 400 shows in four years. Their unique instrumentation enables them to seamlessly blend genres including bluegrass, country, celtic, rock, reggae, and world music into their sound. The general appeal of Polecat comes from their unique take on roots music and their interactive and high energy live shows.”

August 25: Stacey Jones Band

““Seattle-based country-folk-Americana singer-songwriter Stacy Jones is a vocal powerhouse and talented musician who plays acoustic guitar, ukulele, harmonica, piano, organ, and electric slide. She has performed at South by Southwest, the Chicago Blues Festival and other national and regional festivals, and has been nominated for “Best of the Blues” awards in songwriting, performance, harmonica, guitar, and winning vocalist of the year. Sue Menhart, Sound Waves (Apr 02, 2015)”

September 1: Jazz Underground

“Jazz Underground is an 18 piece Seattle-based group that plays contemporary big band jazz. Their repertoire includes music from the libraries of Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Stan Kenton, Maynard Ferguson, and Duke Ellington, as well as music by jazz greats like John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, and Charlie Parker. In addition, the group performs music by local composers and arrangers, including original tunes by members of the band.

For more information about this event, please visit: www.RiverwalkConcerts.com

Information Written and Provided by:

Danielle Lothrop, Membership and Marketing Director for the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce.

Organized by:
Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce and the City of Mount Vernon
Andy Mayer, MVCOC, andy@mountvernonchamber.com, (360) 428-8547
Bob Hyde, City of MV, bobh@mountvernonwa.gov, (360) 336-6214