The 41st annual Hopelands Gardens summer concert series continues Monday with a performance by the Mike Frost Band, featuring Lauren Meccia.
The free concert, held by the City of Aiken Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department, will last approximately an hour in Hopelands Gardens, 135 Dupree Place. The performance is sponsored by Cumberland Village.
The Mike Frost Band blends together musical styles from funk to classic rock, jazz and R&B. Frost is a former student of jazz legends Pat Martino and Jaco Pastorius, according to the Mike Frost Band website. Frost is a composer, studio musician, educator, recording engineer and owner of Spirit Studio in South Carolina. He also leads the Mike Frost Band and regularly tours with Jesse Colin Young and guitarist Esteban.
Lauren Meccia is a vocalist, saxophonist, educator, composer, and lyricist, according to the band's website. She is director of jazz ensembles and instructor of saxophone at USC Aiken, and is also the founder and director of the CSRA New Horizons Band, a beginning band for adults.
Monday's concert will feature a variety of songs, such as "Old Black Magic" by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen and "Nobody's Business" by Frost and Meccia.
For more information about the Mike Frost Band, visit www.mikefrostband.com.
Alcohol and wine are prohibited on the grounds of Hopelands Gardens, and pets must be kept on a leash at all times. Those in attendance can bring a lawn chair or blanket, and picnic dinners are permitted on the property.
Public parking will be available at the Green Boundary Club, 780 Whiskey Road, across from Hopelands Gardens. Handicap parking also is available at the Hopelands Gardens parking lot, 135 Dupree Place, and at The Rye Patch, 100 Berrie Road.
In the event of inclement weather, the concerts will be moved to Gym 2 in the H. Odell Weeks Activities Center, 1700 Whiskey Road.
For more information if there is a threat of rain the night of the concert, call the City Parks, Recreation and Tourism rain-out hot line at 803-643-4661. If accommodations for people with disabilities are needed, call 803-642-7631 no less than 72 hours in advance.
For more information, call 803-642-7631, or visit www.facebook.com/experienceaiken.
Maayan Schechter is the local government reporter with Aiken Standard. Follow her on Twitter @MaayanSchechter.