The Upper Alton Association hosted A Tribute to Bud Summers in honor of the late musician on Oct. 17, 2021, at the Liberty Bank Alton Amphitheater in Alton, Illinois.
Musicians paid tribute to one of their own Sunday at Liberty Bank Alton Amphitheater.
Bud Summers, a mainstay at the Upper Alton Association’s Rockin’ with Robert concerts at the SIU dental school in Alton, died in December 2019 at age 60. Jamie Ruyle, president of the association, said the pandemic delayed the concert.
Summers’ wife, Tracy, assisted with the concert, donating a raffle basket with compact discs and t-shirts. Ruyle says Upper Alton Association members Ed and Irene McLaughlin also were key helpers at the concert, which included a 50-50 drawing, food trucks and a drink table from the city of Alton. Members of the original Bud Summers Trio took the stage toward the end of the show.
Songs in the first hour included “No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature” by The Guess Who, “Without Love” by The Doobie Brothers, “Amanda” by Boston, “Free Ride” by The Edgar Winter Group and “Ride Like the Wind” by Christopher Cross.
Summers
According to budsummers.com, Summers released eight albums of originals and cover songs, a mixture of 1960s to 2000s pop, blues, classic rock and easy listening. He was a guest instrumentalist on more than a dozen albums. The son of a jazz bassist dad and music teacher mom, Summers later joined the faculty at Lewis and Clark Community College, Principia College and Greenville College.
