Click here to
buy tickets online

Get out your dancin' shoes and be ready to jump and jive as The Arts Council's successful and highly successful outdoors concert series Smithgall Arts Center Summer MusicFest announces its 2008 season performers.  The series features The Jesters on Friday, June 27th, The Tams on Friday, July 18th and closes with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra on Friday, August 1st.

All performances are at The Arts Council Smithgall Arts Center and begin at 8:00pm.  Season Tickets are only $70 for all three performances and represent a savings of $15 over individual ticket purchases.  Tickets and a table for the 2008 season are $665 which includes 8 tickets to each performance, 1 60" round table for each event and 8 chairs.

The Jesters

Friday, July 9th at 8pm

Tickets: $25 per person
Table for 8: $240

The Jesters were formed in 1964 with six high school band members and friends. The original group played locally in Athens, Georgia until re-formed in 1967 with eight of the current ten pieces. The band produced a recording which was a recut of "Shake a Tail Feather" by James and Bobby Purify. In 1968, an album was recorded in Athens, Georgia that featured songs of current rhythm and blues hits.  Touring throughout the southeast between 1967 and 1970, The Jesters performed with a multitude of hit recording artists including Marvin Gaye, The Platters, The Marvellettes, Jerry Butler, Patti LaBelle, and Jackie Wilson, among others. 

The band maintains its enthusiasm for the music and the style of the Sixties, featuring hit songs that are classified as Rhythm and Blues, Soul, and Beach music. The band combines a sound of full instrumentation that includes guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, and a five-piece horn and woodwind section. The band also features choreography and "Sound in Motion" with its own version of "Showtime."   The Jesters are: Davis Causey, Scotty Piotrowsk, Steve Hartley, Freddy Seagraves, Mike Haynes, Harold Williams, Bill McDonald, Billy Young, Tom Ryan and Donny Whitehead
JESTERS RAIN DATE: JULY 11th.

Order tickets

"The Tams"

Friday, July 18th at 8pm

Tickets: $25 per person
Table for 8: $240

The Tams were formed in Atlanta, GA in 1962. It’s members were Joseph Pope and Charles Pope (founders), Horace Key, Floyd Ashton, and Robert Lee Smith. In the beginning, they sang and danced as a way of having fun and to escape their circumstances, hoping to make at least a little money. The group began performing in local night spots for $1.25 each. These small wages only allowed for them to purchase matching Tam O’shanter hats to wear while on stage. From this trademark, the legendary Tams name was born. The Tams hard work, patience and perseverance eventually paid off when they were signed to Arlen records and had their first Billboard hit in 1962, the single “Untie Me”, which was number 12 on the R&B chart. In 1963, ABC Records signed them and their first album produced a Top Ten hit, “What Kind of Fool”. They began playing throughout the country and a string of hits followed. These included “Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy”, “I’ve Been Hurt” and “Hey Girl”. Since then, they have released over 15 albums and been honored with one Platinum and two Gold records. They have toured and recorded with Jimmy Buffet and performed with such greats as Gladys Knight, Jackie Wilson and many more. They have received the title “Beach Band of the Decade” and have been inducted into the Georgia Hall of Fame, the Atlanta Hall of Fame and the Beach Music Hall of Fame. The Tams are still recording today and have recently released their latest singles “My Main Squeeze” and “This Love Will Last” from their newest CD The Tams Comin’ At Cha’.

 The current members include Charles Pope, his son Li’l Redd, Joe Jones, Robert Arnold and Reginald Preston. Despite the unfortunate passing of “The Legendary Joe Pope”, The Tams have continued to be as popular as ever. Forty two years after the group’s formation, Charles and Li’l Redd continue to lead The Tams toward success. Fans clamor to see Charles Pope – Living Legend, and Li’l Redd – Fastest Feet in the South! And with a new generation of “Little Tams” coming along, Charles puts it best when he says “The Tams will NEVER die”!!
THE TAMS RAIN DATE: AUGUST 14th

Order tickets

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

Friday, August 1st at 8pm
Tickets: $35 adult; $32 senior, $28 student
Table for 8: $320

An annual tradition since 1975, The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra marks its 33rd anniversary performance for patrons in Gainesville, Hall County, and northeast Georgia on Friday, August 1st.   The ASO will be outdoors at The Arts Council Smithgall Arts Center and this performance will also be included in the 2008 Smithgall Arts Center Summer MusicFest.

Regarded as one of the most creative and innovative orchestras in North America, the 95-member Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is complemented by the acclaimed Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus and the widely recognized Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra.  Serving as the cornerstone for musical performance and training in an area extending far beyond our city's borders, the ASO reaches nearly half a million people through its various concert series and its diverse initiatives in music education and outreach.  The orchestra performs more than 200 concerts each year, with its main subscription series augmented by pops series, family concerts, and a full summer schedule including classical, pops, and parks concerts.  Its educational concerts for young people are consistently sold out and, along with outreach initiatives in schools and community centers, serve more than 50,000 youngsters annually.

Music Director since 2001, Maestro Robert Spano has led an innovative period for the ASO that has included commissions for video and animated installations in the concert hall as well as video interviews with living composers and a much greater emphasis on contemporary repertoire.

Recordings by the ASO have drawn international praise, winning an Audio Excellence Award, Gramophone and Ovation Magazine Awards, and 21 Grammy Awards, including three last year.  The ASO records for Telarc, with additional releases available on the Argo, New World, Nonesuch, Sony Classical, and Vox labels.
ASO RAIN DATE: SEPTEMBER 18th
 

Order tickets