ELKINS — The 2023 Live & Drive Concert Series at the Rotary Amphitheater in Elkins Town Square will officially kick off tonight with the first free concert for the summer.

This year’s events are once again presented by Our Town Inc. and the Mountain State Street Machines, who will begin their weekly Thursday night cruise-ins this evening at 5 p.m. Vendors setting up around the Amphitheater will open at the same time the cars arrive.

Matt Mullins and the Bringdowns will take to the Amphitheater stage at 6 p.m. The group is described as an Appalachian rock band whose stories in their songs are almost as diverse as the influences heard in their music.

Fueled by a driving rhythm section that is made up of drummer Dylan McInturff and bassist Bob Campion, the band also features Stuart Hill on guitar and Mullins on vocals.

This year’s concert series will feature many different genres of music with performers coming from as far away as Cincinnati, Boston and New York.

During the annual Fourth of July Car Show weekend, there will be a total of three free concerts at Town Square, beginning with the Air National Guard Band of the Northeast on Thursday, June 29.

Ryan Cain and the Ables will bring their rockabilly sound to the stage on the second night when the cars begin to arrive on Friday, June 30.

The finale of the weekend will feature local favorite Rick K’s Road Trip and a fireworks display on Saturday, July 1. The Rick K performance will begin at 8 p.m.

“We are going to be having a bigger fireworks display than we did last year,” said Our Town volunteer Bobbi Trimboli. “The plan this year is to set them off somewhere in the Railyard, so everyone should be able to get a fantastic view of them going off in the sky.”

This year’s complete schedule includes:

May 13, The New Relics;

June 1, Cross Town Traffic;

June 15, Buffalo Wabs & The Price Hill Hustle;

June 29, The Air National; Guard Touring Band of the Northeast;

June 30, Ryan Cain and the Ables;

July 1, Rick K. Road Trip (special start time at 8 p.m.);

July 6, Yarn;

July 20, Motorcycle Drive-By;

Aug. 3, Cold Chocolate;

Aug. 17, Jason Good Blues Band;

Aug. 24, David Morris (special start time at 7 p.m.).

All concerts will begin at 6 p.m. unless noted.

“The whole idea is to have a diversity of bands that hopefully meets everyone’s different taste,” said Trimboli. “Doug Startcher did a tremendous job of scouting and picking the bands that will be performing during this summer’s concerts.”

For more information, go to the Facebook pages of Our Town Inc. or the Mountain State Street Machines.