It’s pretty amazing that the Akron Art Museum, a Knight Arts grantee, has been both hosting and presenting the Downtown@Dusk concert series for 28 years and is kicking off yet another season.

The free concerts (food and drinks are available for purchase) are held on consecutive Thursday evenings (excluding July 4) throughout the summer for a total of eight concerts from 6:30-8:30 p.m. The concerts are held just outside the museum in the parking lot or, in case of rain, under the pavilion.

Each week, either of two restaurants (Urban Eats or Old Carolina Barbeque) will have food for sale. For the beginning concert, Old Carolina Barbeque will provide food.

On Thursday, June 20th, the self-described “rockabilly and more” band Lost State of Franklin will be up first. This band says that it is built on the “vision and history of Scott Franklin and Tyler Postma.” They play rockabilly, jazz, country, beat poetry, big band, rock and roll, bluegrass and heavy metal. Seems like they have it all covered.

The group has been nominated for several awards by “Scene Magazine” and “Free Times,” and has been rated No. 1 as the most played band on college radio shows.

The following week, on Thursday, June 27th, the group Robin Stone will be featured. The singer has been called “skinny, funky, white chocolate.” Her musical thing is soul pop and intelligent groove.

Robin Stone, singer. Photo from www.clevelandpride.org

After a hiatus for the July 4 holiday, The Speedbumps will be up on July 11th. It’s described as a “variety” band. They incorporate a combination of hollow-bodied instruments like the cello, upright bass, ukulele and acoustic guitar into their music.

On Thursday, July 18th, Horns and Things, a jazz group, will appear. The group was founded by saxophonists J.T. Lynch and Ken Lee Grand, who were then joined by musicians on bass, keyboard and guitar to fill out their contemporary jazz preference in music.

The Wanda Hunt Band, a very popular local group that performs what they describe as “old school R&B,” will appear on Thursday, July 25th.

On Thursday, August 1st, JD Eicher & the Goodnights will appear for a concert of pop and light rock music. Vocalist and guitarist Eicher is backed by keyboard, bass and drums.

JD Eicher and the Goodnights. Photo by Andrew Jefferis

The 15 60 75 Numbers Band will be featured on Thursday, August 8th with its renderings of abstract blues. The actual numbers (15 60 75) refer obliquely, they say, to how people would numerically analyze dreams in order to bet numbers in the rackets games.

The final concert, on August 15th, will consist of American, pop and country music performed by local favorite Anne E. DeChant. She is so cool, her name was the answer in a “New York Times” crossword puzzle. That’s celebrity.

Lost State of Franklin will kick off the Downtown@Dusk concert series at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 20th at the Akron Art Museum, One South High St., Akron; 330-376-9185; www.akronartmuseum.org. All concerts are free.