Free Friday Night Concerts continue through the month of August
RANCHO CORDOVA — Break out the bell bottoms and get ready to groove as Rancho Cordova’s Friday Night Concerts continue this week with a high-energy performance by the Neon Playboys.
The Northern California dance and party band takes the stage Friday, Aug. 14, at Village Green Park, where the group will turn the outdoor amphitheater into a retro dance floor filled with hits from the 1970s and ’80s.
The Neon Playboys are four seasoned musicians who have built their shows around keeping audiences moving. Their playlist reaches across disco, funk, soul, rock and pop, drawing from artists including the Commodores, Bee Gees, David Bowie and Prince.
It is a musical mix made for an outdoor summer concert, moving from the unmistakable grooves of the disco era into the pop and rock sounds that dominated the following decade. Rather than concentrating on one artist or genre, the Neon Playboys use the two decades as their playground, mixing recognizable dance favorites with the kind of songs that tend to bring people out of their seats and onto the dance floor.
The group combines vintage flair with polished musicianship, building its performances around familiar songs, upbeat energy and audience interaction. For those who remember the music when it first filled radios and record collections, Friday offers a dose of nostalgia. For younger concertgoers who discovered the same songs decades later, it is a chance to hear them performed live in a community concert setting.
The Friday Night Concerts series is billed as a place to “dust off those dancing shoes” while enjoying some of the region’s live bands, and the Neon Playboys lineup fits squarely into that mission.
The performance marks the second installment of this year’s August concert series at Village Green Park, following the Aug. 7 appearance by Class of ’85. Concerts continue every Friday through the end of the month, with a different band taking the stage each week.
Located at 3141 Bridgeway Drive in Rancho Cordova, Village Green Park provides an open-air setting for the series, with its amphitheater serving as the centerpiece for an evening organizers describe as being about more than simply watching a band.
The free gatherings are designed as community nights out, where families, friends and neighbors can spend an evening together with live music, dancing and food. Admission is free, making the series an easy summer outing for those looking to enjoy live entertainment without purchasing a ticket.
Food trucks will be featured during the concerts as well. The specific food truck lineup for each week is announced by organizers on Facebook and Instagram ahead of the performance.
Following Friday’s trip back through the ’70s and ’80s with the Neon Playboys, the series will keep the nostalgic energy going Aug. 21 when Adam Aldama & The Aces take over the Village Green Park stage.
A familiar name on the Sacramento-area entertainment circuit, Adam Aldama has become known for energetic themed performances celebrating the music and pop culture of past decades. With The Aces, Aldama delivers a dance-oriented live show that draws heavily from recognizable hits and the sounds that defined the 1980s.
That makes for back-to-back weekends of throwback music at Village Green Park, although each group brings its own style to the stage. While the Neon Playboys reach across both the ’70s and ’80s with a mixture of disco, funk, soul and pop, Adam Aldama & The Aces bring their own energetic approach to the nostalgic favorites that have made their performances popular with regional audiences.
The Friday Night Concerts series then concludes Aug. 28 with the Mercy Me Band, giving Rancho Cordova residents one more opportunity to gather at Village Green Park before the August series comes to an end.
The monthlong lineup began Aug. 7 with Class of ’85, followed by Neon Playboys on Aug. 14, Adam Aldama & The Aces on Aug. 21 and Mercy Me Band on Aug. 28.
The concerts are presented by the Cordova Community Council as part of its community events and programs in Rancho Cordova. The organization produces a variety of local celebrations and gatherings throughout the year, with the summer concert series centered on providing an accessible evening of entertainment and community connection.
For this Friday, however, the emphasis is decidedly retro.
With the Neon Playboys reaching into a catalog that includes everything from the smooth funk and soul of the Commodores to the Bee Gees’ disco-era sound, David Bowie’s distinctive rock and pop and the genre-crossing music of Prince, the Village Green Park lawn is likely to see plenty of movement once the band gets rolling.
The Neon Playboys perform Friday, Aug. 14, at Village Green Park, 3141 Bridgeway Drive in Rancho Cordova. Admission is free.
More information about the series is available through the Cordova Community Council Friday Night Concerts page.
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