Friends, family and music filled the square in Downtown Bloomington Saturday as three high-energy blues bands rocked the stage.

First to play was Hip Pocket, a local favorite of the Bloomington-Normal and surrounding community. The band’s long stretch of success will end this season with a final New Year’s Eve Bash, which will reunite all 42 members.

Andrew “Jr. Boy” Jones, a Dallas bluesman and guitarist/singer/songwriter, followed Hip Pocket, building anticipation for headline act Gas House Gorillas.

“We’ve been doing this for ten years and it keeps getting bigger and better every year, and we’re commemorating the concert with a tenth anniversary T-shirt,” GLT Music Director Jon Norton said.

The dark gray T-shirt featured an orange “10,” burned out with the silhouette of a band. Concert-goers all over the square wore the shirts as they talked with friends and waited for each band to take the stage.

“The turnout is a range between two and four thousand people on average. I went to the last six or seven [concerts]. That’s when I started here at GLT; 2003 was my first summer concert,” Norton said.

The event itself has not changed much since its inception and continues to rock the square in Downtown Bloomington with swinging blues bands and talents.

“The only transformation is a change in venue – it used to be next to the courthouse and it’s since moved to the intersection of Jefferson and Center,” Norton said.

The concert remains a special event to both GLT and the community.

“It’s a party we throw each summer as a thank you to the community … It’s our way of saying thank you for supporting GLT,” Norton said. “Hip Pocket is ending after 25 years; they’ve been quite the band.”

Each band proved to be “quite the band” on the evening, providing the crowd with a wonderful evening of music and entertainment.

Rick Fink, lead singer for The Gas House Gorillas, rocked the stage with a black suit, suspenders and a slick black fedora. He wailed lyrics and jumped all over the stage, riling the crowd and keeping up the intense energy of each song. Renowned guitarist Dean Shot wowed the crowd with solos and screaming guitar riffs, showing off his versatile ability to switch between blues, rock and swing easily.

On the upright bass, Jerry “Chicken” Scaringe kept the beat along with drummer Angelo Merendino and kept the crowd entertained with a huge smile on his face through every song.

Tenor sax player James White kept the jazz spirit alive with his instrument and steady rhythm.

Jason Kolucki, of KMF Productions, talked about the Gorillas’ stage performance and interaction.

“[Their performance is] very high energy, very swinging, a mix of jump blues, rock and swing … they’re very interactive. They’re very much a group that gets out there and puts their heart and soul into every performance that they do,” he explained.

The Gas House Gorillas have shows coming up in Atlantic City, Chicago and Cleveland right after the Summer Concert.

“Basically they play just about every single weekend in the tri-state area. We have been playing over the last month, in Massachusetts recently … We’re on the road a lot in the summer,” Kolucki said.

With the Gorillas busy schedule it is quite a treat for local fans to experience them live in concert. Concertgoers owe thanks to several local businesses and, of course, GLT for putting on such a great show.

The summer entertainment does not end with the Jazz Concert, however. The GLT Sugar Creek Arts Festival will be held Saturday, July 10 and Sunday, July 11 in Normal. The Nothin’ But the Blues Festival will take place Friday, July 16 and Saturday, July 17.

These events will give students and residents of the Twin Cities more opportunities to enjoy the great programs that GLT puts on.