Ann Smith
Reporter

After a year off due to COVID-19, the Idyllwild Summer Concert Series is back on. Here is a look at the remaining bands. A few have performed for the town before.

Aug. 5: Darryl Reed’s Creedence Clearwater Review

Back in 2016, Reed was interviewed by the Daily Republic where he is quoted with saying, “SouthBound and Company is the mother company if you will, and Born on the Bayou is our Creedence Tribute, but we have a Buddy Holly Review, and we do a Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute as well,” Reed said. “You can’t always get work with just one band. Once we did the Creedence tribute, the chemistry worked very well and audiences really enjoyed it.”

Aug. 6: U.S. Marine Corps Band

The U.S. Marine Corps Band out of Camp Pendleton will be performing in the beloved Idyllwild Summer Concert Series. According to Chief Warrant Officer Andres Navarro, “We are very excited about coming to Idyllwild. The last time we played in Idyllwild, two years ago, we had a completely different ensemble.” They will be playing multiple genres including patriotic music, of course. There will be approximately 12 ensemble members. Navarro states this is a completely new ensemble with new players. According to the website, the band is a “contemporary music ensemble consisting of vocalists, keyboards, guitars, electric bass, drums and instrumentalists.”

Aug. 12: Ken’s Big Band Staff

Do you remember the last time Ken’s Big Band Staff performed? Ken Dahleen, creator and producer of the Idyllwild Summer Concert Series, will once again lead his popular Big Band Staff into a night of big band music. This genre is written on the hearts of many, its popularity reaching new heights during the World War II era. The newspaper reached out to Dahleen to find out what new and exciting renditions the band would be bringing to the crowd. As luck would have it, he was literally sitting on top of a pole preparing the grounds for the concert! We fully expect those finger snapping, put a smile on your face tunes we’ve come to love from the band. Put on your dancing shoes!

Aug. 19: Mike Hammon’s Grateful Dead Tribute

Who could forget The Grateful Dead band? They’ve had a massive impact on music over the last how many years? According to the Facebook page, The Ghost Notes Band offers “improvisational rock’n’roll & Americana music inspired by The Grateful Dead.” They must be awfully busy as we weren’t able to check with their fearless leader to see what new renditions they’d be bringing to our hungry audience.

Aug. 26: The Blue Breeze Motown Band

Harold Wherry of The Blue Breeze Band told the newspaper, “Now that we’re kind of post-COVID, we’ve been starting to perform again. We’ve had a couple of weddings and some corporate events. Things are moving along. We are blessed!” He said everyone in the band is healthy and happy and very happy to be back performing again adding, “We want to get the crowd movin’ and groovin’!” They’ll be adding some new selections to the repertoire.