Bridgeport Arts Council Summer Jam Series 2016 starts tonight. To start 7 p.m. at Bridgeport City Park, the debut features Scott Shelby and the SteelTown Cowboy, but the Arts Council has released a surprise bonus – a performance by regional crowd favorite, the Davisson Brothers Band.

 

“It’s going to be a great night,” said Mary Kay Greer of Bridgeport Arts Council.

 

Known for radio singles including “Big City Hillbilly” and “Jesse James,” the Davisson Brothers Band includes brothers Chris and Donnie Davisson, their cousin Sammy Davisson and lifetime friend Aaron Regester.  All from the local area, the musicians said they are always happy to return to their old stomping grounds. Chris contributes lead and slide guitar talents while Donnie provides lead vocals and rhythm guitar. Sammy adds bass guitar and background vocals while Aaron plays the drums.

 

The Davisson Brothers have played Bridgeport City Park several times, always drawing an enthusiastic crowd. SteelTown Cowboy looks forward to its debut in Bridgeport. Yet, one of the band members has performed in the park before. Rob Lightner, guitarist, played with Wyatt Turner during Summer Jams 2015. SteelTown Cowboy also includes Nathan Shaffer, Gregory Charles Kerr, Jon Leff and Scott Shelby. The band frontman is from Bells, Texas - a little town just north of Dallas.

 

“I graduated with 47 people, but of those 47, seven play music for a living so I guess there was something in the water,” Shelby said. “I lived in Nashville for a little while with a couple of buddies and while I was there, I cut an album. From there I moved to Stillwater to go to Oklahoma State to finish up my masters degree and was there for a year and a half or two years. I recorded an album there in Stillwater – which is the birthplace of red dirt country music, so that was fun.”

 

When Shelby relocated to this area, he met Lightner through a booking agency. The two musicians hooked up and thereafter added Shaffer to the mix.

 

“We were doing duo and trio shows, so forming a band was the next progression,” Shelby said.

 

The guys all do solo work, but when they play together they are known as SteelTown Cowboy with country rock as their platform.

 

“We do about 50 percent originals and 50 percent material of other artists,” Shelby said. “We’re along the lines of Americana country, but we do some stuff that feels a little bit like Matchbox Twenty.”

 

Among original tunes are the title tracks to Shelby’s albums “Young and Invincible” and “Still Got It.”

 

“Those are the staple parts of the show,” he said. “I built my career around those two songs and they are the ones, I guess, we are most inspired to play in large crowd settings.”

 

Featuring some pretty cool string instrument combinations and classic four-part harmony with acoustic feel, SteelTown Cowboy delivers a wide range of tunes from those of Tom Petty and Garth Brooks to Matchbox Twenty and Journey.

 

“We try to keep the intensity of the show and at the right moments we sneak in our own material. We try to give people a chance to enjoy the best of what we have and the best of what we know how to play.”

 

When he lived out west, Shelby said he often played the East Coast.

 

“I used to tour here four times a year and now, this is home base,” he said. “This is central to the directions I travel and around here there are enough bars to keep me busy when I’m not in a band – when I’m playing acoustic solo, duo or trio.”

 

Shelby said he enjoys performing in each of those capacities.

 

“It allows you to have a blue collar approach – which is kind of what attracted me to this area in the first place,” he said.

 

So far, SteelTown Cowboy has played fairs and festivals in Pennsylvania, including the Albert Gallatin River Festival in Point Marion, Leasburg Fair and Somerset County Fair in Meyersdale. Soon, the band will travel to Missouri and Indiana where, among other venues, they will play at the Old Settlers Festival.

 

Tonight, the band can add Bridgeport Arts Council Summer Jam Series to its list.

 

Don’t miss the show. It all starts at 7 p.m. and there is no charge. Bring your lawn chairs.