The free concerts will be presented every Thursday at 7 p.m. until Aug. 30, and will include food and beverages provided by a different local restaurant each week.
The bands scheduled for this year's Summer Series are the Van Martin Big Band, The Infernos, Beatlemania, The Showstoppers, Jimmy Sturr and Elvis. The Secaucus Stars will be the last to perform.
Restaurants providing refreshments will include Joe Pepe, Burger Stop, LaReggia, and the Bonefish Grill.
The concert series is presented by Mayor Dennis Elwell and the Secaucus Town Council in conjunction with the Secaucus Reporter.
"We usually see about 500 people at the concerts," said John Voli, Director of Recreation for Secaucus.
Who's playing?
The Van Martin Big Band, which will play this coming Thursday, revolves itself around the Big Band sound of the 1920s.
While playing the typical swing style music that the genre revolves around, Van Martin himself has been known to croon with the air of Frank Sinatra. Audiences can expect to be jumped, jived, and wailed while at the same time, crooned to.
And on July 26, the Infernos, who have recently started their own record label, are looking to kick it into high gear with some R&B oldies.
Band leader and manager Bobby Wells has worked with such artists as the Duprees and the Commodores and attributes his success and knowledge of the industry to those groups, as well as others, that helped him find his way into the niche of Motown and original R&B.
This self-proclaimed "#1 Show Band in America" will perform at the third installment of the concert series.
Then, on Aug. 2 - it's "Beatlemania." Four of the leading Beatle impersonators will perform the Fab 4's classic tunes. The group has been known to portray the Beatles from different times in their careers, from their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show to the days of the Magic Mystery Tour.
For more sing-along fun, the Showstoppers pull up the fifth performance of the series. With a collection of songs dating back to the 1940s, the group will make you snap your fingers and dance the night away.
Polka king, Elvis, and Secaucus kids
"Who is America's polka king?"
That was a $250,000 question on the game show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." The answer: Jimmy Sturr. And he's coming to Secaucus on Aug. 26.
Jimmy Sturr has over 100 recordings on various labels, all with polka/country themed music. A 14-time Grammy Award winner, Jimmy Sturr and his orchestra are also the only polka band to ever receive Commendation of Excellence by Broadcast Music Incorporated.
An Elvis impersonator pulls up as number 6 in the series. But is it young or old Elvis?
Last in the show is the Secaucus Stars. Secaucus High music teacher Rob Fournier brings this group of Secaucus High School students and alumni together every year for the series. Each year, different members are brought together.
Dixie dealing
Robbie Scott and the Dixie Dealers were scheduled to kick off the Summer Series this past Thursday. The Dixie Dealers are just a small faction of his larger band, the New Deal Orchestra.
Last week, Scott said that he first began playing music with the pots and pans in his mother's kitchen.
"I got a drum set when the Beatles came out, but preferred playing the swingin' hot jazz on my father's old [record player]," he said.
Before playing in Buchmuller Park, the New Deal Orchestra has played for Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, former Gov. Jim Florio, as well as other groups ranging from the New Jersey Jazz Society to the National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine.
Sponsors of the various shows include Kipnis Physical Therapy, Nacirema, Commerce Bank, Mark Deluca Fredrics, Bank of America, Sovereign Bank, Comcast, LibertyHealth, Dr. M. Perlman, and Otterstedt Insurance Agency.
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