Hillis: Best 6-day stretch of music this year coming to beaches

The highlight of the 2017 beach concert season is arguably a six-day stretch that will see various national acts gracing area stages.

Things begin with a sold-out concert by the Tedeschi Trucks Band at the Freeman Stage at Bayside in Selbyville on Saturday, June 17 — which is also the venue's first major rock concert this year.

Tickets disappeared months ago for the first Delmarva performance by the group led by guitarist Derek Trucks (formerly of the Allman Brothers Band) and his wife, blues singer-guitarist Susan Tedeschi. Attendees will get a musical bonus, as Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett of Little Feat will open the show at 7 p.m.

Another outdoor concert will take place Thursday, June 22, when country star Cole Swindell plays Hudson Fields, located off southbound Route 1 in Milton.

Opening act the Morrison Brothers will play at 7 p.m., and general admission tickets remain ($40). VIP tickets priced at $95 for the pit area are long gone. The audience should include some fans who were shut out of Swindell's sold-out 2016 concert at the much smaller Bottle & Cork nightclub in Dewey Beach.

This is the second Hudson Fields event; country group Old Dominion christened things earlier this month when it played to a capacity crowd of 4,200 people. For his part, Swindell has come a long way since playing Seacrets in Ocean City in August 2014, when he was just breaking the national scene with his early singles "Chillin' It" and "Hope You Get Lonely Tonight."

Speaking of Seacrets, the wild and wacky ska group Reel Big Fish will play its annual concert at the venerable OC party complex on Sunday, June 18. The band's current tour is a bit of a traveling mini-festival of punk and reggae acts, including The Expendables, The Queers and Tunnel Vision. The concert will take place on Seacrets' beach stage, with the doors opening at 6:30 p.m.; tickets are $25. On Tuesday, June 20, Jamaican reggae vocalist Protoje will perform inside Seacrets' Morley Hall at 9 p.m. ($18).

Back at Dewey's Bottle & Cork, alt-country favorite The Old 97's (featuring heartthrob vocalist Rhett Miller) will return on Sunday, June 18. The Turnpike Troubadours, who also have a large national following, will start the evening off at 9 p.m., and tickets are $30. Looking ahead, the Cork has  announced that a triple-bill tour featuring Scott Stapp of Creed, Sick Puppies and Trapt will make a stop on Tuesday, Aug. 29 ($41).

E-mail Roger Hillis at rogerhillis@gmail.com

This Week's Must-See List

Tedeschi-Trucks Band at the Freeman Stage at Bayside in Selbyville at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 17. Sold Out

Cole Swindell at Hudson Fields in Milton at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 22. $40

Reel Big Fish at Seacrets in Ocean City at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, June 18. $25

The Old 97's with the Turnpike Troubadours at the Bottle & Cork in Dewey Beach at 9 p.m. Sunday, June 18. $30

Jimi Smooth & Hittime at M.R. Ducks at 5 p.m. Friday, June 16. Free