So, what kind of music do you like?

Because we're pretty sure that someone performing during the Long's Park Summer Music Series is going to knock your socks off.

Of course, you may choose not to wear any socks during the Sunday evening concerts, letting your toes wriggle in the lush green grass of the park.

Because Long's Park concerts are unlike any other.

It's summer, you've got a blanket or a lawn chair, there's lots of room and you won't be paying a penny. That's right, they're all free (Thanks to that chicken barbecue the Sertoma Club cooked for you a few weeks ago.)

So sit back and relax. Here's what you have to look forward to beginning this Sunday and running through August 24:

• June 1: Big Jack Johnson and the Cornlickers
Johnson is a master of contemporary Mississippi Delta blues, infusing funk, soul and country into the mix. His music was featured in the film, "Black Snake Moan," starring Samuel Jackson.

• June 8: Natalie & Donnell
Natalie MacMaster and her husband, Donnell Leahy, are both known for their potent fiddle playing. MacMaster is renowned for her Cape-Breton style playing and Leahy is a member of Canada's well-known and venerable Leahy Family, made up of eight Leahy siblings.

• June 15: The John Tropea Band
John Tropea is the original guitarist for the Blues Brothers band who has played on a number of classic songs, including Harry Chapin's "Cat's Cradle" and Paul Simon's "Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover." His band has "an alluring jazz sensibility" and "a splendidly full sound," according to the Newark Star-Ledger.

• June 22: Blue Highway
The five member bluegrass band "can make your heart soar even as it's breaking," says Entertainment Weekly. They've been together for 14 years, have released eight albums and are known for their song writing.

• June 29: Hiram Bullock Band featuring Randy Brecker
Singer/song writer Hiram Bullock, known for his jazz and jazz fusion inspired guitar playing and his barefoot appearances with the band on the David Letterman show, will join forces with two-time Grammy winner trumpeter Randy Brecker, who's played and recorded with such greats as Stanley Turrentine, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed and Dire Straits.

• July 6: The 257th Army Band
A new band will be playing the annual Patriotic Concert this year. New and steeped in tradition. Known as the Band of the Nation's Capital, the 257th Army Band provides musical support for the Washington DC National Guard. They'll perform plenty of patriotic music, and don't worry, the Smithgall cannons will be there, along with the fireworks.

• July 13: Ruthie Foster
This Austin, Texas native is making people take notice. The Philadelphia City Paper writes of Foster: "The energy she brings with just voice and guitar is stunning." Ruthie's drawn comparisons to Ella and Aretha, but musically neither is really close. What she does have in common with Fitzgerald and Franklin is the irresistible blaze — it's impossible to look away, even close the eyes, for one second."

• July 20: Jimmy Bosch and his 11-piece Salsa Band
Trombonist Bosch calls himself a "fiebru," a feverish salsa head. His 11-piece band keep up with him. Expect a big dance crowd for this one, featuring hard driving Latin salsa.

• July 27: Habib Koite & Bamada
Koite is one of Africa's best known musicians. The New York Times writes: "His reputation as a guitar player has become almost mythical." He comes from a long line of griots, traditional troubadours who provide wit, wisdom and music. His influences include blues and flamenco, along with traditional music from his native West African country, Mali. His band is comprised of a number of musicians he grew up with.

• Aug. 3: The WAIFS
This folk rock trio from Australia, featuring three guitarists (sisters Vikki and Donna Simpson and Josh Cunningham), so impressed Bob Dylan when they supported him on an Australian tour in 2003, he asked them to play with him on his North American tour that same year.

• Aug. 10: Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers
Formerly known as the Iron City Houserockers, this band from Pittsburgh, plays hard driving, blue collar rock. Springsteen once called them his favorite band.

• Aug. 17: Sonny Landreth
Louisiana native and bluesman Sonny Landreth has an unusual way of playing slide guitar. He plays with the slide on his little finger so that his other fingers have room to fret behind the slide. Eric Clapton said Landreth is "probably the most underestimated musician on the planet and also probably one of the most advanced."

• Aug. 24: Bobby Lee Rodgers & the CodeTalkers
Rock and jazz come together in this band, which counts a number of other music styles as influences, including "post-bop jazz, Muscle Shoals soul, fleet fingered acoustic picking, and huge scale epic rock."

Wow. That will be some grand finale for the series.


Long's Park Summer Music Series
Jack Johnson and the Cornlickers
Sun. 7:30 p.m. Free
Long's Park Amphitheater
1441 Harrisburg Pike, 735-8883
On the Web at www.longspark.org


Staff writer Jane Holahan can be reached at jholahan@LNPnews.com or 481-6016.