By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
Decatur’s 2023 Summer Concert Series is off to a booming start, with great entertainment, great crowds and great weather for the first two weeks of the 14 consecutive Thursdays.
But a new, unexpected dimension has been added this year: talented young performers.
The Decatur Chamber of Commerce’s executive director, Craig Coshow, and assistant director Linda Morris, earlier decided to see if some teenagers would be interested in performing when a concert’s main attraction took a break.
Two weeks in, the idea has become a resounding success. The first night, three Bellmont High School girls rocked the Main St. Plaza, to the delight of the crowd.
Last Thursday, it was Jaleena Hill, a 14-year-old who will be a freshman at Bellmont in the fall. Her number at intermission brought resounding cheers from the people on hand.
Then, to put an exclamation point on the brief performance, Lisa McDavid, lead vocalist for the Sweetwater All-Stars, brought Jaleena to the stage to join in belting out three numbers (see photo). The crowd loved it!
The Sweetwater All-Stars, an eight-piece rhythm and blues band, is one of the most popular groups to grace the plaza stage each year. The plaza was full for Thursday night’s performance of nearly three hours.
Members of the band include Sweetwater founder Chuck Surack on the sax, McDavid, Bob Bailey (vocals, guitar), Andrew Glasmacher (vocals, drums), Rolin Mains (vocals, keyboards), Dave Martin (bass), Brett Kelsey – who has relatives in Decatur – (trumpet), and Marcus Farr (trombone).
The Sweetwater band will return to the plaza on August 31 to wrap up the 2023 series.
Island Vibe will be on the plaza next Thursday, 6-9 p.m.
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