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NILES — Music and movies will return to Riverfront Park just in time for summer.

Niles Music and More announced its annual Summer Concert Series and Friday Movies In The Park will make their awaited returns in June.

The Summer Concert Series will kick off with Rock The River, a two-night event taking place Friday, June 10 and Saturday, June 11 at the Riverfront Park Amphitheater. The June 10 performance will feature Bob Seger tribute band, Katmandu while The Toona’s, The Erly, Hey Annie, and Elvis tribute artist Tim Dudley will take the stage June 11. While the kickoff event takes place on a Friday and Saturday, the following concerts will take place on Sunday evenings.

Altogether, 17 concerts will take place beginning from June 10 through Sept. 19. Other acts booked include Raucous Leo, PastTime, VanDyke Revue, Touch of Texas, Blue Water Ramblers, Darryl Buchanan, Boogie Woogie Kid and more.

The Niles Summer Concert Series, a program within the non-profit Niles Music and More, was founded  in 2018 to fill the void of musical events at Riverfront Park. Niles Music and More Board President Caryn Adler said each concert acts as a fundraiser for other nonprofits located in the 49120 zip code, with each band choosing a Niles nonprofit to share the billing slot with. Adler has a list of active 501c3 nonprofits from the area, ranging from focus on the arts to children in need, to seniors and healthcare.

“The nonprofits share in our marketing, our social media and the band’s social media, so it raises the community’s awareness [of the nonprofits] at the concert,” Adler said. “A lot of nonprofits don’t have a marketing person; they are ‘mom and pop’ nonprofits, they don’t have a marketing budget. With the concerts, they get to make the community aware. …I don’t want anybody mad at me because I didn’t pick their non-profits, the band chooses. That’s really what sets us apart and that’s a huge motivator for me in supporting the nonprofits.”

According to Adler, concert attendees donated more than $9,200 to Niles nonprofits last year.

“I’m very proud of that because with that money, just like what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, what happens in Niles stays in Niles,” she said. “It helps Niles people of Niles and I am truly proud that we can do that. I can’t give $9,200 dollars to charities but I could give my energy and my time to help them.”

In addition to the Summer Concert Series, Free Friday Movies In The Park will return beginning June 24 behind the Wonderland Cinema in Riverfront Park. Movies will start at dusk (approximately 9:30 p.m.) each Friday through Aug. 12, except on July 1.

Summer Concert Series

• June 10 Katmandu, 6 p.m.
• June 11 The Toona’s, 1 p.m.; The Erly, 3 p.m.; Hey Annie, 5 p.m.; Tim Dudley (Elvis Tribute Artist) 7 p.m.

All concerts below start at 6 p.m.:

• June 12 Paul Erdman
• June 19 Touch of Texas
• June 26 Phil Anderson 
• July 3 Imphormal (electric cello)
• July 10 The Toona’s
• July 17 PastTime (50s rock)
• July 24 Boogie Woogie Kid (swing) July 31 Darryl Buchanan (R & B)
• Aug 7 Tim Dudley (Elvis)
• August 14 The Erly
• Aug 21 Lake Effect Jazz Band
• Aug 28 Raucous Leo
• Sept 4 VanDyke Revue
• Sept 11 Hey Annie
• Sept 18 Brian McClure (Celtic)

Free Friday Movies In The Park

All movies begin at dusk:

June 24 – “Grease”, sponsored by Brown Funeral Home

• July 1 No movie
• July 8 – “Encanto”, sponsored by Niles Vision Clinic)
• July 15 – “The Wizard of Oz (original)”, sponsored by Tammy Anders of MI Realty
• July 22 – “The Lego Movie”, sponsored by Niles Riverfront Optimists
• July 29 – “Back to the Future”, sponsored by Jim’s Smokin’ Café
• August 5 – TBA
• August 12 – Make-up date