A decade ago, George Balzer and three others stepped into Port Moody city hall to suggest summer programming at the Rocky Point Park stage.
Balzer would run past the platform on his days off and would often see it empty of music or dance.
The first couple of years after they got the okay was difficult with limited sponsorship, Balzer remembered, so they hired single and duo acts to fill the venue on Sunday afternoons and to raise money for the Crossroads Hospice Society.
But as the word got out about the free shows, the audiences swelled.
These days, Balzer — with help from Rob Sheridan and Rob Montgomery — books bands that know the Summer Sunday Concerts’ reputation and are eager to play before an outdoor crowd of more than 1,000 party-goers hungry for the blues as well as soul, funk, R&B and reggae tunes.
“It’s been quite a road,” Balzer said on Monday. “It was a lot of work in the beginning but now it’s grown into something to be proud of.”
This year’s $20,000 budget is covered by Pacific Coast Terminals, K+S Potash Canada, TD Bank Group and the Port of Vancouver (with publicity and media sponsorship from Flavelle Oceanfront Development and The Tri-City News).
And, like last year, the lineup will include 23 hours worth of music from 16 bands — spread over the July 22 to 24 weekend — for the second annual Port Moody Rotary Ribfest.
On Sunday, the first Summer Sunday Concerts gig will see Mostly Marley hit the PCT Performance Stage. It is followed by:
• July 17: Russell Marsland & The Chosen Few
• July 31: Billy Dixon’s Soul Train Express
• Aug. 7: John Delaney & The Indestructibles
• Aug. 14: R&B Allstars
• Aug. 21: Incognito
• Aug. 28: Jim Byrnes & The Sojourners
• Sept. 4: Brickhouse
Balzer said he had tried to hire Byrnes three years ago “but, like a lot of bands, sometimes it just takes time because of their scheduling.”
As for Brickhouse — led by Rob Bracken on lead vocals and harmonica — Balzer said they’re back by popular demand as the closers again. “It’s kind of a tradition that they wrap it up,” he said, noting the band is pushing a new CD this year. “Rocky Point is a great venue and it’s nice for them to play somewhere that’s not a bar or casino.”
Balzer also noted the family-friendly, relaxing concerts have become a tourist destination, with guests from Europe and the United States making plans to pop in to one of the shows this summer.
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