Free concerts in Schaumburg

Free outdoor concerts to start: The calendar may say that summer is halfway over, but in Schaumburg the best is yet to come.

This Saturday, July 11, begins the village and park district's Summer Breeze free outdoor concert series.

All the concerts begin at 7 p.m. on consecutive Saturdays on the lawn outside the Robert O. Atcher Municipal Center at 101 Schaumburg Court.

Patrons can bring their own picnic dinners, but there are also six vendors lined up to provide food and refreshments.

This Saturday brings New Odyssey, three guys playing everything from Beethoven to contemporary music on 30 different instruments.

July 18 features Funkadesi, a world music group combining Indian, reggae, Latin and African rhythms.

The July 25 band is The Special Consensus, a four-person acoustic bluegrass group that's been touring for more than 30 years.

August is the appropriately named band of the Aug. 15 concert, a rock horn band from Chicago featuring classics of the '70s and '80s by the likes of Chicago, Blood Sweat & Tears, Ray Charles, the Doobie Brothers and the Beatles.

ARRA, featured on Aug. 22, is a cover band focusing on vocal harmonies. It spotlights the work of Kansas, Survivor, Ides of March and Styx's Dennis DeYoung.

The series wraps up Aug. 25 with the Symphonic Pops of Chicago, conducted by Frank Winkler. The evening will concentrate on light classics, movie music and show tunes.