Gig Harbor Retro Rocks with The Beatniks

If you didn't already know who was performing for the Tuesday night, the lawn chairs holding spots in , the backed up traffic and kids bearing signs offering $10 parking would have given you a pretty good clue.

The ever-popular Beatniks and its repertoire of retro rock classics drew about 3,000 people to Gig Harbor’s downtown waterfront as usual on Tuesday.

Concert goers — both young and old — filled every corner of Skansie Park. Then they spilled onto Jerisich Dock and Harborview Drive while boaters crowded into Gig Harbor Bay.

The Seattle area band has been the highlight of the downtown concert series for the past four years. As always, people this year came to hear — and sing along to — its faithful renditions of iconic favorites from the '60s and '70s like The Beatles' Birthday, the Rolling Stones' Honky Tonk Women, Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline and Don McLean's American Pie. 

They also came to let loose and dance.

"I'm a groupie of dancing," said Jim Culp, who's been to every Summer Sounds Beatniks concert. "Whoever rocks, that's where I am."

Culp was up in front of the stage cutting the concrete, so to speak, within the first few notes of the Beatniks’ opening song, The Beatles’ Eight Days a Week. Two hours later he was still there dancing to the band’s final encore performance of The Isleys Brothers’ Shout.

But by then, he was moving elbow to elbow with a throng of other energetic Beatnik boogiers.

“We’re here just wanting to have a high time,” Bob Bryson said of the crowd.

Clearly, the Beatniks, once again, gave them just that. 

According to the 's marketing director Laureen Lund, she has already booked the Beatniks to perform next year on July 24.