Ephrata heats up with Basin Summer Sounds

The summer concert season continues to fill out with a lineup announcement from Basin Summer Sounds, a free two-day festival July 19-20 featuring live music and visual arts at the Grant County Courthouse in downtown Ephrata, Wash.

Although the Summer Sounds’ eclectic music lineup heavily features regional and local acts, including Tacoma’s Pearl Django and The Lonely Forest of Anacortes, Wash., perhaps the biggest draws of this year’s festival are the nationally renowned headliners.

Taking the stage on Friday night is singer-songwriter Steve Holy, who has had two No. 1 hits on the Billboard country charts with his songs “Good Morning Beautiful” and “Brand New Girlfriend.”

Saturday night’s festivities will end with the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, the Oregon-based retro rock band best known for their 1997 single “Zoot Suit Riot.” That song was a surprise Top 40 hit and was partially responsible for pop music’s brief swing revival in the late ’90s, but the group continues to release new material and is currently on tour with its sixth studio album, “White Teeth, Black Thoughts.”

Previous years’ headliners have included ’90s alt-rock hit-makers Toad the Wet Sprocket and Texas pop-punk outfit Bowling for Soup.

Along with the full roster of bands, Basin Summer Sounds also boasts a 3-on-3 charity basketball tournament, a car and cycle show, food vendors and plenty of family-friendly activities.

For details, visit www.basinsummersounds.com.

Nathan Weinbender