It may be cold and snowy, but the Countryside City Council has warm summer nights filled with music on its mind.
At the latest meeting of the council’s special events committee, there was some talk about the city’s annual Summer Concert Series.
Once again, concerts will be held on Thursday nights at Countryside Park, Ald. Scott Musillami (3rd), the committee chair, said.
The plan is for eight nights of music, starting on June 11 and ending on Aug. 6. There will be no concert on July 2 because of the Fourth of July weekend.
As in previous years, fireworks are planned for the next-to-last night on July 30. If it rains that night, the fireworks will move to Aug. 6, he said.
Musillami was reluctant to name the bands whom the city is considering.
“We haven’t finalized this yet,” Musillami said after the Jan. 14 meeting. “It won’t be long. A couple of weeks.”
A preliminary list of potential artists shows a diverse collection of musical styles with country, pop, soul, blues, classic rock and nods to Frank Sinatra and the Carpenters.
Westfield Ford, which has been in the city for 40 years, will again be the main sponsor.
The city again hired Designer Event Chicago, based in Highland Park, to again recruit talent for the concert series. The company is to be paid $31,090.
Local restaurants typically are there selling food at booths or from food trucks during each show. Rainbow Cone is always a popular vendor.
And there are raffle prizes awarded during a break of each show. An estimated 350 people or more attend each show.