Perth’s new summertime music series “Tunes on the Tay” is up and rolling in its inaugural season at the riverside Terrace on the Tay on Mill Street. The series kicked off in late June, and the free 2-hour shows continue Wednesday evenings through to Labour Day.

To date, the lineup has featured a variety of genres and performers including young performers Julien and Joshua Groulx, Perth favourite Matt Dickson, the R&B and blues band Soulfire, folk singers The Rivermen, the acoustic duo Libby & Cal, and the rockin’ Three 2 Go band. Response from the community has been positive with folks lining the waterside patio and stone amphitheatre to enjoy the shows.

Series organizer Brian Perkin hopes the outdoor series can dodge this summer’s unsettled weather. Perkin says, “We’ve only had one rain-out so far. July 1 Canada Day was a complete wash-out. As an open-air event, our shows are completely weather dependent. So, with the “super El Nino” system affecting weather patterns, and smoke from the northern forest fires, it can be a real challenge for outdoor events to go off as planned.” Perkin adds that any cancelled shows will be moved to Wednesday evenings in September.

Meanwhile, the series is fully booked for its 10-week run. Co-organizer Andrew Mc-Intyre says the response from musicians has been overwhelming. McIntyre states, “We’ve received lots of requests from performers to take part. It’s now to the point where we can’t fit everyone in. It’s kind of a bittersweet problem when so many have shown interest.”

McIntyre says the local business community has also stepped up to help with sponsorship, and the venture is receiving in-kind support from Perth Tourism.

The upcoming Tunes on the Tay Wednesday night shows in July begin at 6:30pm on Wednesdays, while the August and September shows start at 6pm because of the earlier sunsets. These include:

For details, please contact tunesonthetay@gmail.com.