Hear Cool Sounds at Live Summer Music Events

Music is always in the air in the Upper East Side of Texas but as summer approaches people really enjoy getting out and about to hear some tunes and area organizers are not letting them down. Here are a few highlights.

Mineola kicks off Music in May on the downtown brick streets with Blue Mudbone on May 4, Ramoth Gilead on May 11, The Purple Hulls with Banjo Ben on May 18, and Nick Brumley and Presley Haile on May 25.

Downtown Rockwall hosts the outdoor San Jacinto Music Series on Friday and Saturday nights May through October. The line up features several enjoyable tribute acts at San Jacinto Plaza where guests sit at outdoor tables and benches or bring their own.

The Back Porch in Kilgore is a lively venue featuring bands to watch. the Darrin Morris Band on May 5 and Lyrical Valor on May 12.

Appearing in Kilgore on May 13 is Jenn Ford & the Wide-Eyed Devils, performing songs from their new album, Americana Radio. They also appear at other venues around the region this summer, including on May 27 at XL’N Pool Hall & Club in Tyler, as they promote the new album.

The Will Carter Band of Katy performs at the Back Porch on May 19. A dozen of their hits have made the Texas country music charts and three crossed over to Nashville’s Music Row chart.

The Rockett Cafe & Club in Waxahachie celebrates Cinco de Mayo with live music by The Tejas Brothers on May 5. They also host the Saints Eleven Reunion With the Dallahachie Boys on May 13, and Two Tons of Steel on June 2.

Multiple venues in Tyler offer great line ups this summer including the Tyler

Civic Chorale’s performance of “The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace” at the First Presbyterian Church, May 6 and 7.

East Texas Symphony Orchestra performs “The Creation by Franz Joseph Hadyn” on May 13 at the University of Texas at Tyler Cowan Center.

The Texas African American Museum presents the free performance, “Day Concert with the Voices of Appalachians” on May 14.

Hear “The Best of Motown and More” at Liberty Hall on May 25.

New Texas Sinfonia performs “The Heavenly Life: Mahler’s Fourth Symphony” on June 3 and 4 at the First Presbyterian Church.

In Marshall, see Girls Raised in Texas on May 11 and Jimmie Vaughan & The Tilt-A-Whirl Band on May 19 at Memorial City Hall.

The Marshall Symphony Orchestra presents two free performances in May: “Dixieland on the Square at Telegraph Park” on May 11, and “Voices 4.0” on May 13.

Downtown Live in Longview presents a series of free outdoor concerts on Fridays from 5 to 8 p.m. with Lee Mathis & The

Brutally Handsome on May 12, Covie on May 19, and Mason Dawson on May 26.

Also in Longview is the “Concert Under the Stars Full Moon Party” featuring Kelli Grant Queen of Swing at the Kokomo Theater on June 3.

Lindale’s Texas Music City Grill and Smokehouse features a long line up of bands through the fall. Catch the Mo Jiles Band on May 12, Monte Montgomery on May 19, Texas Express on May 26, the Kid Icarus Project on June 3, July 15, and September 16, Artemis Pyle With Rachel Stacy on June 11, the Wheelhouse Band on June 17, Gringo Fire on June 23, the Tuxedo Cats on July 22, the Cody Wayne Band on July 29, and the Haggertys on October 7.

In Nacogdoches blues duo Annika Chambers and Paul DesLauriers perform on May 13 at the Live Oak Listening Room, and Five’s a Crowd performs at Banita Creek Hall on June 3.

Mount Vernon Music brings Rosas Divinas!, an all-female mariachi band, to the Plaza on the Square for a free Mother’s Day performance on May 14.

Music City Texas in Linden presents country music legend Gene Watson on May 20.

In Greenville see “Texan Fan Party Featuring Mark Cohn” at The Texan Theater on May 21. Greenville Municipal Auditorium hosts a free performance of the Air National Guard Band of the Southwest on May 21, and a discounted performance of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Summer Popular Classics on June 10.

Denison’s Music on Main free outdoor concert series begins May 26, with Release the Sound with Kinfolke and continues every Friday night through July 28.

Main Street Sherman’s downtown concert series is titled Hot Summer Nights and is held on Thursday evenings in June and July at 7 p.m. on the Municipal Lawn.

Ariana & Mark perform at the Cadillac Pizza Pub in McKinney on June 16.

Shawn Klush performs The Ultimate Elvis at the Perot Theater in Texarkana on June 24.

Gun Barrel City’s annual July Fest features a drone show this year and a concert by the Randy Rogers Band on July 29. Check www.countylinemagazine.com for many other music events for a harmonious summer in the Upper East Side