Burlington

Concert series begins Thursday

Concertgoers fill Burlington’s Echo Park for a performance in the B-Town Sounds concert series. The series resumes for the 2017 season on Thursday. (File photo)

Milwaukee blues band to kickoff B-Town Sounds’ 2017 slate

The popular B-Town Sounds outdoor concert series will open its 2017 season Thursday with an encore performance by Milwaukee blues band Altered Five Blues Band.

The concert series is held twice a month on Thursdays in the bandstand at Echo Park in downtown Burlington. Organizers encourage concertgoers to bring lawn chairs and picnic dinners to enjoy during the performances, which run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

This is the sixth year for the series, which began in 2012.

Like last year, each concert will be paired with a craft brewery by event sponsor Rice’s Liquors, which will provide the special brews for sale in the park pavilion.

The current schedule of performances and craft beers is:

June 8 – Altered Five, blues; Short’s Brewing

June 22 – American Folk; Bell’s Brewery

July 6 – Eskimo Brothers, country; Half Acre Beer Co.

July 20 – Gary Gibson, classic country; Founders Brewing

Aug. 3 – Cash Box Kings, Chicago Blues; Goose Island Brewery

Aug. 31 – Category X, classic rock; Revolution Brewing.

Sponsors for this years series include – Diamond: Runzheimer International and Thrivent Financial, Scott Herrmann; Platinum: Bruiser’s, Rice’s Liquors, Farmer’s Insurance Jeremy Bauman agency; Gold: Cannella Media, Habush, Habush and Rottier; Silver: Chris’ USA and PCA; Friends: Burlington Flowers and Interiors, Get Artzy, Music Matters.

This year’s opening act, Altered Five, returns after playing the series in 2016. The blues group recently signed a record contract and will be playing in support of its latest album, “Charmed and Dangerous,” which will be released Aug. 11, according to a news release issued by Blind Pig Records.

The group’s self-produced 2014 debut album, “Cryin’ Mercy,” climbed to No. 3 in the iTunes blues store and won “Best Self-Released CD” at the 2015 International Blues Challenge.

According to the news release, the Minneapolis Star Tribune describes frontman Jeff Taylor’s voice as “gloriously gritty;” Downbeat says that Jeff Schroedl’s “live-wire guitar reaches the high bar of mixed invention and fluidity;” and Blues Bytes magazine declares the group features “the funkiest rhythm section outside of Memphis.”

Here’s a look Altered Five’s official video of the tune “I’m in Deep” of it’s 2014 debut album “Cryin’ Mercy.”

 

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