Outdoor music festivals happening at The Venue in downtown Aurora

Two outdoor music festivals are coming to The Venue in downtown Aurora next month.

The Venue, which is run by nonprofit Fox Valley Music Foundation, will host The Acoustic Summit on July 12 and Summer Jam on July 26 at Mundy Park, which is adjacent to their building.

The Acoustic Summit is a new summer festival featuring bluegrass group Wheels North along with bluegrass trio Anderlik, Otto, and Church and singer songwriter Pete Jive.

The outdoor festival, which starts at 8 p.m., will highlight Americana, bluegrass, roots and folk music.

Summer Jam returns to Mundy Park at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 26.

For the second year, Summer Jam at The Venue will celebrate the famous Summer Jam at Watkins Glen which took place on July 28, 1973 at the New York racetrack and brought together Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers Band and The Band.

The original Summer Jam broke records with its crowd of 600,000.

“It was bigger than Woodstock,” said Sean Briskey, one of two lead guitarists in Peach Jam, a Chicago-based Allman Brothers tribute band.

“It’s the jam band community coming together,” said Scott Tipping, music director of The Venue.

Tipping performed as “musician at large” with both bands at last year’s sold out event.

Peach Jam and Cream Puff Warriors, a Grateful Dead cover band out of Chicago, will both headline the evening starting with both bands coming together for a set of tunes from The Band.

Doors open for all shows one hour before showtime. The Venue, located at 21 S. Broadway in downtown Aurora, offers a wide selection of craft beer and other beverages at the bar which is open for all shows. Shows are all ages and general admission. Bag chairs are welcome for outdoor shows. Shows will move indoors due to inclement weather.

Free street parking is available along with free surface lot parking located across from City Hall, 44 E. Downer Pl. at the corner of Downer Place and Water Street. The Venue’s entrance is located along Water Street Mall, adjacent to City Hall and Mundy Park.

For tickets and additional show information, visit themusicvenue.org.