This summer, the Downtown Auburn Business Improvement District (BID) will be hosting the Downtown Auburn Summer Concert Series. Seven free outdoor public concerts will be held on consecutive Wednesday evenings during the months of July and August. The first three shows will take place at the State Street public performance area. The last three shows will take place in Market Street Park. All shows begin at 7 p.m.

This series was made possible in part by public funding that the BID recently received from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) Decentralization Program, which is administered locally by the Phelps Arts Center and the Phelps Historical Society. Several local sponsors also made contributions to make the series possible. With their help, we have brought in a variety of different acts that should appeal to a wide range of audiences.

The series kicks off Wednesday, July 16, with the Mario DeSantis Orchestra. The orchestra features many arrangements including traditional big band, “new era” swing, medleys and listening and dance selections from the 1960s to the year 2007. In addition to NYSCA, this show is sponsored by Wegmans and First Niagara Bank.

On July 23, the Salt Potatoes will play at State Street. The Salt Potatoes are multi- instrumentalists and perform on various combinations of guitar, fiddle, voices, banjo and mandolin. This show is sponsored by the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center.

The State Street portion of the concert series ends July 30 with Teenager, a critically acclaimed original rock 'n' roll band from Auburn. Teenager was a finalist for the 2008 people's choice Syracuse Area Music (SAMMY) award. This show is sponsored by the City of Auburn.

On Aug. 6, the series shifts to Market Street Park where Dave Hanlon's Cookbook will perform. This highly talented and versatile band continues to win over new fans and keep existing ones coming back with their high energy rhythm & blues dance-oriented presentation. They won the 2004 SAMMY for best rhythm & blues CD. This show is sponsored by NUCOR Steel.

On Aug. 13, the Kevin Dorsey Collective comes to Market Street. The multi-SAMMY award-winning Collective performs all original music combining jazz harmony with world music and other genres. This show is sponsored entirely by NYSCA.

The Barrigar Brothers will perform Aug. 20. At age 6, Loren Barrigar was the youngest person to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. In the decades since, he has toured around the country and written songs recorded by BB King and Patti LaBelle among others. Barrigar has also toured around the country with several bands and has performed with Australian fingerstyle guitarist Tommy Emmanuel and GRAMMY-winning singer/songwriter Tommi Hendrix. Their show on Market Street in Auburn is sponsored by Wegmans.

The series concludes with an Aug. 27 concert at Market Street by the students of local favorite Bob Piorun. These musicians typically perform at the music workshops that are held on Thursday nights in the spring at the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center. They are excited to get together to perform in this public concert, which is sponsored by the BID.

In addition to the concerts, the Red Cross will be on hand each night selling hot dogs, drinks and other concessions. Poppy's Ice Cream truck will also be there. Some games and children's activities will also be provided along with informational tables and much more.

So, bring your own chair and plan on spending your Wednesday nights this summer in beautiful downtown Auburn. It's free; it's fun, and it's all downtown - a place to make memories once again.

Dan Schuster is director of the Downtown Auburn BID. He can be reached at 252-7874