Venue 102 in Oswego kicks off summer with Taylor Swift tribute band

Oswego resident Jennifer Welsh is a fan of Taylor Swift’s music for many reasons.

“It’s fun and you can dance to it,” she said.

Welsh was among the many Swifties who came to Venue 1012 in Oswego on June 5 to hear Fearless: The Unofficial Taylor Tribute. The band helped to kick off Venue 1012’s summer season.

She attend the concert with her niece, Kaylie Welsh, who was attending a Venue 1012 concert for the first time.

She enjoyed the experience.

“I like being outdoors,” Kaylie Welsh said. “And it’s not too crowded. I also liked that it was free.”

The free Thursday night concert also featured the tribute band Beyond the Blonde, which pays tribute to the music of Pink, Gwen Stefani and Lady Gaga.

Each concert at Venue 1012 this summer will have two bands perform. The season will run through Sept. 6.

The village hosted its first summer events series at Venue 1012 in summer 2022.

Oswego events manager Julie Hoffman was pleased with how the night went.

“It’s been a beautiful night for sure weather wise and I think that everybody that’s here tonight is having an absolutely wonderful time,” she said.

Along with the free concert, there will be four ticketed Saturday night concerts. In addition, three free movies will be shown as part of the summer season – “Inside Out 2,” “Transformers One” and “Wicked.”

The season will feature bands paying tribute to a number of different groups and musical genres. That includes The Atomic Punks on June 20, which will pay tribute to early Van Halen.

The Atomic Punks first formed in 1994. According to the group’s website, former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth said Atomic Punks was the “best tribute to Van Halen ever.”

On July 12, Loudernow will pay tribute to emo and pop-punk bands like Fall Out Boy, Taking Back Sunday, blink-182 and Dashboard Confessional. That same night, Grunge – The Sounds of Seattle will perform songs by such groups as Alice in Chains, Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.

Jennifer Welsh plans to come back to Venue 1012 on July 12 to hear Grunge – The Sounds of Seattle.

“We got to check that one out,” she said. “That’s my era. I would love to hear some Nirvana.”

The music of The Eagles, Toby Keith, Luke Combs, Luke Bryan and Morgan Wallen also will be represented during the season. A full band schedule is at venue1012.com.

This season, cash will not be accepted. Credit/debit cards and electronic payments are accepted.

“It makes things much more efficient,” Hoffman said.

Venue 1012 also is available for rent. For more information about Venue 1012’s season and to buy tickets, go to venue1012.com.