For the last 10 years, thanks to the Sounds of Summer concert series, the downtown gazebo has been put to some fun and musical use. Thankfully for St. Joe, this year will be no different.

The Sounds of Summer concert series, presented by the St. Joseph Downtown Association, will kick off two months worth of weekly concerts beginning with Page 2 from 6 to 9 p.m. tonight. Concerts will follow at the same time each Friday through July 31 and feature a variety of local and regional musical acts.

In addition to the live music, vendors will serve pop, beer, wine, hot dogs, chili dogs and pizza, and while those items will cost you a minimal amount, taking in the music and warm weather is as free as it gets.

And according to Rhabecca Boerkircher, executive director of the St. Joseph Downtown Partnership, that's why it's had a decade under its belt.

"It's not an expensive thing to do, and you get to listen to really cool live music and that's how we do it," Boerkircher says. "It's just kind of a kick back way to end your week, and I think that's kind of why it's been successful."

Of course, part of that success lies in what puts the "sounds" in Sounds of Summer. The groups that have been selected by St. Joseph Downtown Partnership president Larry Buck and the board of directors mix local and regional. Popular cover bands like Page 2 and X-Static are thrown in with the occasional wild card act like Kansas country outfit True North or the jazz swing of Kansas City's Anna Lee and the Lucky So-n-Sos to keep the audiences' ear.

"There's a lot of people that want to hear their regulars... we also kind of want to mix in something different too," Buck says.

Whether it's the free live music, the cheap food and drinks or the chance to park your butt in a lawn chair for a few hours and enjoy the weather, Boerkircher says if it gets you downtown for some fun, the Sounds of Summer has done its job.

"A lot of people have rediscovered downtown because they come down for Sounds of Summer," she says. "It's someplace that you can just go and not worry about it."

Blake Hannon | Stjoelive staff

Sounds of Summer

Concerts take place from 6 to 9 p.m. at Felix Street Square. Admission is free. For more information, call 233-9192.

Tonight: Page 2

June 5: Friends

June 12: True North

June 26: Linny's House Band

July 10: Private Stock

July 17: Anna Lee and the Lucky So-n-Sos

July 24: X-Static

July 31: Missourah Mudbugs