Ripon Summer Concert features Blues, Brews & BBQ This week's Ripon Summer Concert (Friday, July 21) features Blues, Brews and BBQ. This 1st annual event, which is sponsored by J's BBQ, will feature blues recording artist David Gerald, samples of micro brews, and smoking hot J's BBQ. J's will offer FREE SAMPLES of their SMOKIN' HOT BBQ while supplies last so don't be late. In addition, J's has rallied together Microbrews from around the States, and representatives will be on site offering FREE tastings from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. Participating brewers include Spoetzl Brewery, Karben4, Stone Arch, Knuth Brewing Co., New Belgium, Mobcraft, Upland Brewing Co., and Leinenkugel's.
David Gerald will make his debut at the series, performing from 7 to 10 pm. Gerald, the son of Rural Mississippi born and raised parents, grew up to the sounds of the blues and R&B music. He's the youngest of 11 children, 6 of whom were born and partly raised in Mississippi. "Because segregation and racial discrimination were so bad in Mississippi at the time, my dad moved the family north to Detroit when he was 33, so we'd have a better chance at the American dream. Gerald started playing guitar at the age of 15, and was heavily influenced by Prince and other 80's rock guitarists. "I was lucky enough to have a neighbor who was a guitarist and gave me scrap guitars. I would piece them together and build 'Frankenstein' guitars," says Gerald. "They were horrible to play and sounded bad, but I just had this tremendous desire to play music. After a while, I finally scraped up enough money to buy an old amp and I was happy. Music was and is my destiny." Now in his 40's, Gerald tours across the nation with his own band performing at clubs and festivals across the United States. Gerald's music has received widespread radio play, along with recognition in the Blues and Rock communities. His debut album "Hell and Back" reached #1 on Roots Music Report's Blues Chart for Michigan based artists, and remained in the top 20 for many weeks in a row. Gerald's follow up album 'Blues Soul Rocker' was released in late 2016 and has received critical acclaim.
The concert series takes place from 7:00 to 10:00 pm at the Village Green located at the corner of Watson and Seward Street in historic downtown Ripon. A variety of beverages are available and participants are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets to sit on. NO CARRY-INs are allowed in the park because beverage sales help cover entertainment expenses.
Next week's concert features Road Trip. Enjoy an evening of entertainment in historic downtown Ripon and discover the charm of small town hospitality. Visit the concert website (www.downtownripon.com/riponmainst/summer-concert-gallery.html) for the complete lineup which includes links to band websites, music samples and more. Or, follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/riponvillagegreen for more information.