Music will fill the streets of downtown Gainesville on June 3, as Main Street Gainesville’s First Friday Concert Series returns for an evening of back-to-back tribute bands. The concert series will run through September and will feature different bands on the first Friday of each month.
The First Friday Concert Series is free for the public and aims to support downtown businesses. Main Street manager Nicole Parham said First Friday concerts bring the Gainesville community together to celebrate the beginning of summer.
“First Friday concerts are held with the goal of bringing our community downtown to support our small businesses,” Parham said in a press release. “Our hope is to give our retailers a boosted night of shoppers, our restaurants a full evening of patrons, and to remind the community about all the great services and businesses that make up the fabric of downtown.”
Cherry Cherry, a Neil Diamond tribute band led by frontman Steve Kelly, will take the stage from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.. Then Kelly’s MainStreet band will play Bob Seger tribute songs from 9 to 10 p.m.
According to the Cherry Cherry and MainStreet Facebook, Kelly is a seasoned performer who puts on high-energy shows. His Facebook page states that his tributes are spot-on and his bands have opened for artists like Pat Benatar, Rick Derringer and Peter Frampton.
The stage will be set up on the corner near Roosevelt Square, Bradford and Spring Streets. Drivers should be aware that Bradford and Spring Streets will close at 3 p.m. as crews prepare for the event. Washington and Main Street will also close at 5 p.m.
The event will also have food trucks for attendees to enjoy. Gainesville city officials will also have a tent on Main Street, where they will have Gainesville-branded merchandise.
Free parking will be available at the Main Street Parking Deck and Hall County Parking Facility.
