Free Summer Concert Series Starts Today

will ring with the sounds of the '60s and '70s tonight when the Moorestown Recreation Department presents the first of its five free summer concerts.

MoorArts will kick off the evening’s entertainment with selections from its upcoming production of Hairspray, which opens July 8 at Moorestown High School auditorium.

Set to '60's-style dance music and addressing issues of racism, discrimination, gender bias and weight bias, Hairspray has attracted an “extremely talented” cast of about 70 from Burlington and Camden counties and Philadelphia, according to director .

Following the 15-minute preview, the Moorestown-based soft-rock group “Seven on Sunday: Al Hanlon & Group,” will play songs from the 70s, covering artists like the Beatles; Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young; Simon and Garfunkel; and Indigo Girls.

Dixieland fans will get a treat on Wednesday, July 6, when the Barbone Street Jazz Band takes the stage. Opening for the band will be the newly formed , an all-male a cappella group founded by six Moorestown High School students: Matt Gavin, Timmy White, Delaney Wallace, Alex Ing, Will Van Fossen, and Charlie Rothman.

After a two-week hiatus, the concerts will resume on Wednesday, July 20, with a preview of Moorestown Theater Company’s production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, scheduled to run from July 14 to July 23 at William Allen Middle School.

That preview will be followed by the Jersey Boomers, an acoustic group whose music ranges from the Kingston Trio to Johnny Cash, and from Bob Dylan to the Beatles, with many stops along the way. The band is made up of Moorestown residents Stan Sheckman, Pete Bentley, Jeff Meyers and Bill Begley.

On July 27, young string students from the Moorestown School of Music will open for the Wind Symphony of Southern New Jersey, which plays a flexible repertoire of concert band, wind ensemble, jazz, big band, pops, Broadway, and light classical music.

On Aug. 3, the Quaker Noats will return to open for the Tri-County Symphonic Band, which plays everything from light classical to modern pop.

All concerts will take place at Perkins Center for the Arts, Camden Avenue and Kings Highway. Previews begin at 7:15 p.m. and the bands go on at 7:30 p.m. The rain date for all performances is the Thursday following the postponed concert. Bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on.