Main Street Live takes show on road

Those who look forward to Main Street Live each Friday night will have one day longer to wait this week as Main Street McMinnville's free summer concert series will have a different night and venue.

In observance of the July 4 holiday, Main Street Live will move to Saturday at the Milner Recreation Center at 500 Garfield St. as part of the Freedom Fest Celebration presented by First National Bank of Middle Tennessee and Ben Lomand Connect. The concert, featuring opening act August Lows at 6 p.m. and the Joe Harvey Band at 7 p.m. will be held outdoors on the lawn between Milner Recreation Center and Gilley Pool.

"This week is all about collaboration to make the Freedom Fest the best yet for our nation's 250th birthday," Main Street McMinnville Executive Director Hannah Cowan Jones said. "We are especially excited to showcase incredible homegrown talent this Saturday and bring back two local bands that are enjoyed by all. August Lows, last year's Battle of the Bands winner, opens our show at 6 p.m. and the Joe Harvey Band takes the stage at 7 p.m. and will play up until the fireworks show at 9 p.m. We will have a variety of wonderful vendors to choose from on Saturday, including Willy B's BBQ, Begonias, Kona Ice, Paula's Dance Academy offering walking tacos and hotdogs, Oh Sugar! doing a dirty soda bar, The Wacky Lemon, Alora Sweets and McMinnville Children's Museum will be selling water."

"I'm excited to be a part of the 250th celebration," Harvey said in an appearance on WBMC's Town Talk with Raven and Rob Monday morning. "Our buddies August Lows will start the show at 6 p.m. They're a great band. Please come out and support them. The pool will be open until 7 right as we take the stage. There will be a lot of stuff happening."

The Joe Harvey Band has long been a staple of Main Street Live and has carved out a niche for itself as a July 4 highlight over the past decade.

"I started playing Main Street Live around 2008 or 2009, and we've been playing Fourth of July weekend for about 10 years now," Harvey said. "The band has been together since around 2003. The core group is all hometown McMinnville people - me, Evan Gross and Lee Carr. And then my brother, Kevin Harvey, finished college and moved back and joined the band. We've had a couple different guitar players over the years. This week we're being graced by the presence of a great guitar player, Andy Wilhite. He's based in Memphis, but he's become a hometown friend. He's an incredible guitar player who really fits our tone. And we'll also have Mary Wanamaker and Jennifer Swims singing backup. They add a whole other level to the band and are total pros."

The concert will be broadcast live on Star 107.3 FM. The eight-concert Main Street Live series will return to its usual home at Security Federal Savings Bank's West Lawn for the Battle of the Bands, July 10 and will continue with Entice, July 17; Rae Radick, July 24; and Knights of Queen, July 31.

Main Street Live is sponsored by Main Street Media, Security Federal Savings Bank, Bridgestone, McMinnville Electric System, Law Offices of Galligan & Newman, Warren County, City of McMinnville, Middle Tennessee Natural Gas Utility District, Hale & Hines Nursery, Citizens Tri-County Bank and Hoover & Son Insurance.