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The yearly “Rock the Block” concert series, featuring music, food and drink, entertainment, and more, has become a staple of the Winchester community during the spring and summer. 

While the ongoing Main Street High Side Project will affect its location, the atmosphere and more will still be available. 

This year’s Rock the Block series – the first taking place on Friday, May 16, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. – will take place on Depot Street near Abettor Brewery.  

“That’s right off of Main Street headed toward South Main [Street],” said Wallace “Gator Harrison, who – along with current City Commissioner Kitty Strode and the late Graham Johns – played a vital role in the event’s creation. “Abettor will be open at that time, and we’ll have other food vendors down there and beer trucks.” 

On May 16, the event looks to start in enthusiastic fashion. 

“We have a band called ‘The Fever’. There’s a hometown boy in this band. His name is Carroll Jones,” said Harrison, who noted that others – including Jones’ wife Mary – were part of the band. “She’s a front lady for the band.” 

Other “Rock the Block” events, also taking place on Friday nights, are scheduled for June 13, July 18, and August 15. 

June’s event will feature a band called Faded Blue, led by Clark County native Donna Fisher Agee. 

“They’ll do a lot of pop [and] dance stuff, along with country,” said Harrison. 

July’s event will showcase a band called “The Perfect Strangers”, led by Jessica Begley Hall – who previously was the host of the country music hoedown at Kings Island in Ohio and Renfro Valley Entertainment Center in Mount Vernon. 

“The first time I heard her she made [the] hair stand up on my arms,” Harrison added, complimenting Hall’s talents. “I’ve been trying to get her for a while…they do pop rock and a little bit of country.” 

The series will conclude on Friday, August 15, with a band called “One More Round”. 

“They [perform] old, traditional country and mix it with the new country,” Harrison said, noting southern rock as representing more of the latter. 

Harrison added that the event is memorable for more than just music. 

“It just brings the community together,” he said. “You can come out and see old friends…we have a lot of people that come in from Lexington, Powell County, here in Winchester, [and] even some people in Paris. We pull from different counties for this event.”