Dockside Band To Bring Yacht Rock To Newtown's Historic State Street

NEWTOWN BOROUGH, PA — "Music On The Street," an eight-concert series of free summer performances, continues through July and August in the heart of Newtown Borough.

Presented by the Opus Outreach Foundation and sponsored by local businesses, the series continues every Thursday through August 28. The music begins at 6 p.m. in front of the Opus Elite building at 16 South State Street.

“We’re appealing to all audiences with our lineup. We have everything from solo artists to a full-fledged rock band,” said Mark Gatta of Opus Elite. “We have all different music, all different genres of music - everything from 70s and 80s pop to rock and everything else.”

Some of the headliners include hit recording artist Meg Russell and the Bunker Band featuring some familiar State Street faces, including Harry Betz from the Newtown Bicycle Shop.

The series continues on Thursday, July 31 with the music of the Dockside Band sponsored by the Newtown Bicycle Shop. Dockside is a six-piece Yacht Rock band that performs good-time, sing-along tunes with a twist of your favorite dance and rock tunes "just to keep the Captain guessing."

Their repertoire includes Journey's "Don't Stop Believing," Van Halen's "Jump," Modern English's "Melt With You," Duran Duran's "Hungry Like The Wolf," Lover Boy's "Turn Me Loose," Tom Petty's "Last Dance With Mary Jane," Thompson Twins' "Hold Me Now," Bon Jovi's "Living On A Prayer," and lots more.

The series continues August 7 with Bangarang sponsored by 4 Ever Young, August 14 with Bad Hombres sponsored by Ned's Cigars and Heath Dumont Engineering, August 21 with Meg Russell sponsored by Countryside Framing and August 28 with the Bunker Band sponsored by Opus Elite Real Estate.

During the concerts, the Opus Elite office will be open, offering complimentary refreshments and an air-conditioned respite. “They’re welcome to come in, enjoy the snacks, use the restroom if they need to or just to cool down,” said Gatta.

Concertgoers are welcome to bring chairs and blankets and find a spot on the sidewalk to enjoy the music, said Gatta.

Gatta said while each performance is free and sponsored by Newtown businesses, he encourages attendees to donate to the Opus Outreach Foundation. The foundation supports local families in need, he said.

“There are no administrative costs so every dollar raised goes to the foundation and helping people in the community. We also ask that you support the businesses because they are providing the concerts.”