The San Jose Downtown Association has organized another great season of Music in the Park, one of the best free concert series anywhere in the US, outside of New York, of course.  Reggae fans should be especially excited this year as two legendary acts come through and a couple other ska bands of momentus reputation. The roots reggae legend Don Carlos will make an appearance July 15 and MitP mainstay, Eek-A-Mouse, wraps up the season on August 26. For Ska fans, be sure to attend The English Beat (July 1)and Jamaican ska legends The Skatalites (June 17) as they represent two eras of the ska invasion.

Indie Rock fans got their fill when the Cold War Kids opened the summer series on June 3, and Tonic comes through on July 8. Other interesting acts will be there as well, including Foreverland, a 14-piece Michael Jackson tribute band, who are surely enjoying newfound success. Lenny Williams (R&B), BoDeans (Rock/Pop) and the Gaslight Anthem (Alternative) round out the list of performers.

The summer series has a reggae friendly tradition and has a good history of top-notch performers. From rockers like Third Eye Blind to Flogging Molly and Pop acts like Mandy Moore, Music in the Park has brought great music to San Jose, FOR FREE!! Probably the most regular performer has been Pete Escovedo, who had his own Latin Jazz club in San Jose. Reggae always has a strong presence and this concert series should be on every Jamaican music fans calendar. Regular performances from Eek-A-Mouse, a reggae eccentric, and other legends like Barrington Levy,  Junior Reid and Pato Banton.

But why all the free music? The series has been a boon to local businesses that are overrun with business from each concert. Staffs at local restaurants like P.F. Chang’s, Gordon Biersch and Burke’s get beefed up to handle the increased traffic. Some restaurants setup booths at the concerts and who can forget the ever present outdoor food vendors like Indian, falafel, hot dogs and kettle corn. Be sure to get your ID band before you wait in line for beer, no ID band, no beer.

“Music in the Park is huge for Downtown San Jose.” Sean McKennan said, General Manager of Gordon Biersch – San Jose.  “We love it at GB because of the different music lovers out enjoying the free music then coming over to GB afterwards to listen to our music on the patio. Beer drinking and listening to music on the patio go hand in hand. In addition, we see a great impact on business on Thursdays when the series starts.”

Gordon Biersch has its own summer music on their patio every Thursday through Saturday, and it is pretty nice to sit on that patio with a tall Marzen beer listening to some jazz or whatever happens to be playing. Parking can be a nightmare at this thing so I recommend getting there early and grabbing a drink at one of the many bars or restaurants. There is some street parking and many parking lots around marked by the large ‘P’ logo.