Shout Section Big Band performs May 15 at Baker Community Center

The Norris Cultural Arts Center concludes its spring season of "Saturday Night Lights" concerts with the Shout Section Big Band on Saturday, May 15, at the historic Baker Community Center in downtown St. Charles. The band will perform a concert called, "That Sound! The Powerful Sound of the Big Dance Bands," at 7:30 p.m.

The music will highlight the influences of jazz and dance in the evolution of the big band sound.

A section of the auditorium floor will be kept open as a dance floor. Seating for this concert is limited and socially distanced.

Tickets are available online through a link at www.NorrisCulturalArts.com.

The Shout Section Big Band, directed by Brett Dean, has been a fixture on the Chicago area music scene since 2007, entertaining audiences at concerts, swing dances, private events and weddings. The band has performed on WGN-TV, WBEZ radio, and on the nationally syndicated TV program, "Vampire Diaries."

Shout Section Big Band is staffed by some of the Chicago area's finest musicians.

The Baker Community Center is located at 101 S. Second St. (Route 31) in St. Charles.

Online reservations will be available later in the summer for the "Wednesdays @ One" series. It is presented free of charge, thanks to the generous sponsorship of Colonial Cafe.

The next program will mark the 150th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire. The program on Oct. 6 is titled "The Essential Great Chicago Fire." On Oct. 8, 1871, a fire began on the near south side of Chicago that would grow into the three-day conflagration. On the great fire's 150th anniversary, author William Pack presents a program based on his book, "The Essential Great Chicago Fire." Join them for a look back at the tragic event that led to Chicago's triumphant emergence as one of the world's great cities.