Pastorius Park summer concert series kicks off in Chestnut Hill [photos]

For seven consecutive Wednesday nights this summer a series of local bands will be performing free concerts in Chestnut Hill’s Pastorius Park.

The 67th Annual Pastorius Park Summer Concert Series is the longest continuously running concert series in Philadelphia. It is produced by the Chestnut Hill Community Association and is supported by The Chestnut Hill Community Fund and Chestnut Hill Hospital.

It started out as a classical music concert series and has evolved over the years to open up to different genres.

The Hot Club of Philadelphia, an acoustic gypsy jazz band playing the music of Django Reinhardt and adding their own style to the mix, performed the first concert of this year’s season on Wednesday.

“We try to mix it up, bring variety of genres and bands, so that different styles of music are represented: we got rock singer, we got jazz, we got singer-songwriter, something for everyone. We are bringing the community together on summer evenings and hopefully they are having a good time,” said Julie Bryne, one of the board members of Chestnut Hill Community Association and chair of the Pastorius Park Concert Series.

Here’s this summer’s schedule. All concerts starts at 7:30 p.m. 

June 24:  The Lawsuits (Indie Rock)
July 1: Ali Wadsworth (Spirited Blues Infused Rock)
July 8:  Jesse Ruben (Folk-Rock Singer-Songwriter)
July 15:  John Byrne Band (Rousing Celtic Music)
July 22:  Michelle Lordi (Cool Sophisticated Jazz)
July 29:  Hank’s Cadillac (Roots Rock and Retro Country)