CLEVELAND, Tenn. (May 12, 2009)—Sounds of big band and Dixieland will set toes to tappin’ in Johnston Park this Friday night during the third Evening Shade concert of the 2009 season. The free concert series continues this week with the music of The Swingtime Orchestra and River City Red Hots Dixieland Jazz Band at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, May 15.

“Bring a lawn chair, pack a picnic and join us in Johnston Park,” Kyle Elrod, Evening Shade co-chair, invited. “Although we’ve had some challenges with rainy weather, we’ve also had some great music with this year’s concert series. These two ensembles will perform jazz and swing selections from some of the greatest musicians in our history.”

The Swingtime Orchestra, formed in 1998, got its name from the Fred Astaire movie Swingtime. Using the authentic arrangements, the orchestra performs in the style of the famous big bands of the Swing Era of the 1940s, including hit tunes of Benny Goodman, Glen Miller and Duke Ellington. The size of the orchestra depends on the occasion, ranging from 12 to 18 musicians.

Available for both public and private events, The Swingtime Orchestra has performed on several occasions at the Trade and Convention Center in Chattanooga, the Tennessee Aquarium, Miller Plaza and the Waterhouse Pavilion.

They have also performed for the Downtown Holiday Parade, Grand Illumination, Bella Sera, Hamilton County Parks concert series at the Riverpark, Hamilton County Fair and Downtown Partnerships’ Pops in the Park series and for seven years at the annual Swingfest in Coolidge Park.

The River City Red Hots Jazz Band began playing in 2000 and plays jazz in the authentic New Orleans style. Playing selections from the repertoire of Louis Armstrong, King Oliver and Bessie Smith, the band includes trumpet, clarinet, trombone, piano or banjo, bass, and drums.

The band has performed on the Southern Belle Riverboat, at the Hamilton County Fair, for the VIPs at Riverbend, at Nightfall and at numerous other occasions in and around Chattanooga.

Mix 104.1-WCLE broadcasts live from Johnston Park Friday night from 6 to 7 p.m.

“We appreciate Steve Hartline and the folks at Mix 104.1 for their support for this year’s Evening Shade and their presence in the park,” Elrod said.

Evening Shade is a program of the Allied Arts Council of the Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce. This annual concert series is funded in part by local sponsors and under an agreement with the Tennessee Arts Commission. Local sponsors for this week’s concert are Don Harting, MD, and Lil Harting, CPA.

Each of the five Friday-night concerts begins at 6:30 p.m. In the event of inclement weather, the concerts will move to Arnold Elementary School.

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