Arts center announces lineup for summer concert series

FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield Arts & Convention Center has announced the bands that will perform at its Summer Sun Concert Series.

The free concert series will feature live acts at 7 p.m. every other Wednesday outside the arts center on North Main Street. The series will last from June 2 through Aug. 11.

“I had a huge list of people I wanted to book but only six slots to fill,” said FACC Executive Director Lindsay Bauer. “I could do concerts like this the rest of my life and the next lifetime.”

Bauer said all of the bands are from Southeast Iowa and several have Fairfield connections. Residents are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or find a place to sit at Petra Park across the street to the south.

“My idea for an outdoor concert series came from wanting to showcase music again, and being outside was the most responsible way to start,” Bauer said. “As vaccine rates keep rising, and the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] relaxes restrictions, we are ready to put the music back on stage.”

The lineup is as follows:

June 2: Bo Ramsey, an artist with Fairfield roots. The promotional material from FACC described Ramsey as follows:

“Does he even need an introduction? This multiple Grammy Award-winning Hall of Famer rolls the past, present, and future into one gorgeous sound experience.”

June 16: Baraka Trio, a Fairfield-based band.

“Essential to the Iowa world music scene, Baraka is the perfect blend of traditional Algerian songs, African medleys, flamenco, reggae, Sufi, and classical music pieces re-imagined.”

June 30: Kevin Burt

“For more than 25 years Kevin Burt's unique, soul-inspired sound has been compared to a range of artists from Bill Withers and Aaron Neville to B.B. King. The International Blues Foundation agrees: Kevin is the real deal.”

July 14: The Boys

“The Boys cook up the best of country, add a generous serving of their own originals, and sprinkle in a dash of classic rock for an experience that brings the house down. Good thing they're playing outside.”

July 28: Awful Purdies

“A folk-Americana collective of five multi-instrumental women powered by seamless harmonies, banjo, accordion, cello, guitar, mandolin, and bass. The result is an earnest nod to traditional America: folk, bluegrass, honky tonk, and soul.”

August 11: Nicholas Naioti, Fairfield artist

“Naioti's ‘aural kaleidoscope’ of danceable, hooky beats give buoyancy to emotionally raw lyrics. The result is an explosive experience of the joy of honest living.”