The Summer of Music Begins on Thursday

The first official day of summer is this Friday, but the Special Events team at The City of Kitchener is ready to begin a day early. The ‘Summer of Music’ series includes 4 multi-artist concerts, all of which are free to attend and take place on the 'D2L Stage' in Carl Zehr Square, outside of City Hall.

“Each year we provide a wide variety of events for our community to enjoy,” says Jeff Young, manager of special events for the City of Kitchener. “The performers that we book set the tone for the event and are really the first step in providing our guests with a memorable experience.”

Kicking off the Summer of Music is this Thursday’s show at the True North Festival. The evening is headlined by Frank Walker and also features Crown Lands as well as DJ Leanne Rhymes. Other Downtown activities that evening include Code Mobile, yoga in Victoria Park, a human recharge station on Duke Street, and the return of the BIA’s DTK Patio Crawl.

Next up is the city’s hugely popular Canada Day in DTK. The highlight for many is the end of the evening with the spectacular fireworks display, brought to you by the Downtown BIA, but the fun begins in the afternoon on July 1 with a kid’s zone that will be full of family fun and you can grab a meal and a drink from the food trucks and licensed area. The music for the evening has a Canadian country feel with Emily Reid, Jessica Mitchell, Jessie T, and the headliners, fresh off their double win night at the Country Music Association of Ontario Awards, local duo The Reklaws.

The Summer of Music continues with one of the city’s longest running summer events, Cruising on King Street. In its 29th year, Cruise takes place in two locations over one day; Friday, July 12. The classic car show and shine begins in Victoria Park then moves to City Hall and down King St with a parade. This year’s theme for music is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Woodstock with musical tributes to The Who and Jimi Hendrix.

The final show in the series will take place at Rock and Rumble on Saturday, July 27. The annual, family-friendly event brings a variety of custom motorcycles to Downtown Kitchener. This year live wrestling will take place in the Ring on King and there will be a vintage arcade in the licensed area. Music is once again the focus though with performances from Men Without Hats and Haywire to cap off the night.

COK Summer of Music

True North Festival – Thursday, July 20
Performances by: Frank Walker, Crown Lands, DJ Leanne Rhymes

Canada Day – Monday, July 1
Performances by: The Reklaws, Emily Reid, Jessica Mitchell, Jessie T

Cruising on King Street – Friday, July 12
Performances by: The Wholigans (a tribute to The Who), Wild T & The Spirit (a tribute to Jimi Hendrix)

Rock and Rumble – Saturday, July 27
Performances by: Men Without Hats and Haywire

More information on City of Kitchener events can be found at www.kitchenerevents.ca
The summer concerts are sponsored in part by Kitchener Utilities.