Swing into Summer with Eight to the Bar

Put your dancing shoes on and swing over to the Avon Chamber of Commerce's third annual free concert on June 18, featuring Eight to the Bar, a band that's had people jumping and jiving since 1975.

"We'll be playing a mix of swing and Motown, depending on what the audience is like," Cynthia Lyon, the band's founder and leader, wrote in an email to Patch.

Eight to the Bar's style and sound are influenced by American roots music-- swing, boogie woogie, rythmn and blues, soul and Motown. The world-traveling six-member group has opened for acclaimed bands and performers like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Manhattan Transfer, Robert Cray, Neil Young, Roy Orbison and Ray Charles. Over the decades, they have cultivated a strong, enthusiastic following all over the world.

Contrary to popular belief, the group's name has nothing to do with eight people going out for drinks. It's actually a musical term that refers to a popular boogie woogie style from the 1940s where the piano player would play eight beats per musical bar on their left hand.

According to Lisa Bohman, executive director, the Avon Chamber of Commerce offers this annual concert to “raise awareness of the Chamber as a valuable business resource for the community and to increase community awareness of our individual member businesses.”

The concert will take place on Saturday, June 18, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on the grounds of Blue Fox Run Golf on 65 Nod Road in Avon, rain or shine. Food and drink specials, courtesy of Blue Fox Run Golf, will be available. Admission is free.