Summer Concert Series Starts Monday With Bacon Brothers

Tickets are on sale now for the eight shows this summer that make up the Summer Concert Series at the .

The series begins on Monday, July 9, with The Bacon Brothers led by actor Kevin Bacon and his older brother, Michael.  

The band has been performing together for 17 years, and "any cynical preconceptions about well-known actors 'dabbling' in music can be safely discarded," according to the show promoter.

"Kevin writes a lot more of the songs than I do," Michael Bacon says. "While I spend a lot of time writing instrumental music, lyrical songs are tougher. If I write one or two a year that I like, then I'm happy. But Kevin has this amazing gift of turning everyday experiences into universal thoughts that everybody can identify with."

All shows in the series start at 8 p.m. with reserved seating, and doors are open at 7.30 p.m. The eight-concert series on Monday nights in July and August will include:

• The Bacon Brothers (July 9): Gritty rock from a band led by actor Kevin Bacon and his brother, Michael.
• Arlo Guthrie (July 16): The legendary folk singer is touring on what would be the 100th birthday of his famous father, Woody Guthrie. The show will include other members of the Guthrie family.
• Get the Led Out (July 23): Led Zeppelin tribute band.
• Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers (July 24): Hornsby and his band are on a summer tour and promoting the 25-track live album "Bride of the Noisemakers." A songwriter and keyboardist, Hornsby won a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1987 on the strength of the album "The Way It Is.
• Charlie Thomas Drifters (July 30): Former member of The Drifters rekindles classics like "Up on the Roof" and "Under the Boardwalk."
• The Machine (August 6): This Pink Floyd tribute band creates what its promoters call "an authentic Floydian experience" with its music, lighting and video show.
• Little Feat (August 20): A mix of new and old members of the funky, folksy rock band founded by Lowell George in 1969 (George died in 1979) perform old new and old music.
• Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels (August 27): Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famer Mitch Ryder ("Devil With a Blue Dress On") is now in his sixth decade (starting in the 1960s) of performing.

For the past five years, the Monday-night concerts on the Music Pier were sponsored by the Richard Stockton College Performing Arts Center as part of its "Stockton Goes to the Beach" series. But Stockton announced in February that it was  to the new Cape May Convention Center in Cape May.

Promoter Bob Rose has taken over and delivered a complete lineup of shows.

"I'm looking forward to another summer concert series on the Boardwalk," said Rose, who first started promoting concerts on the Ocean City Music Pier in the mid-1990s. "I'm trying to keep a good mix (of acts)."

Tickets for any of the shows are available at the Music Pier Box Office on weekends and through Ticketmaster's Ocean City Music Pier page. Ticket prices range from $27 to $35 (without service fees).