Music choices will abound downtown Friday

IF YOU GO FRIDAY Car Cruise Night runs 6-9 p.m. on Central Avenue. The road will be closed to regular traffic. The bands will perform in the 200 block of Central. Free. Cory Farley performs from 7-10 p.m. in the parking lot behind the Golf Box, off of Fourth Street NE between Central Avenue and Corks and Pints. $15 admission. The Over and Back Band performs at 7 p.m at Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour, 101 6th St. NW. Free. e9bd08b5-7b0f-4dac-b08f-30ccc7c80af6

Whether country, hard rock or bluegrass is your jam, there will be three live music options in downtown Faribault Friday evening.

The monthly summer Car Cruise Nights are returning with the addition of live music. The Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour is also bringing back its monthly concert series. One of downtown’s newer businesses is meanwhile bringing in a Nashville musician to perform in a parking lot.

Car Cruise Nights are a growing tradition that lines several blocks of Central Avenue with classic and other unique vehicles.

The Faribault Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, in partnership with the Drag On’s Car Club, organizes the free event on the third Friday of each month, May through September.

Thanks to additional sponsorships, Devin Winjum, chamber marketing and communications director, said an outdoor stage will be set up in between the vehicles and a band or two will perform a free show each month.

System 13 will kick off the performances, followed by Leaving Hope later on in the evening. System 13 is a cover band playing rock, hard rock, alternative rock and pop hits. Faribault’s own Leaving Hope is a hard rock and alternative rock band.

The stage will move to a different location each month near a sponsor of the performance, Winjum said. This month it will be outside The Signature Bar and Grill, which is co-sponsor along with the Community Co-op.

The cruise nights also continue to include a DJ playing recorded music on a different block of Central Avenue, a few food trucks will add to the downtown dining options and some downtown establishments that are typically closed Friday evenings stay open.

As for the car show, there is no set criteria, no car club membership and no registration required to show off your ride. Winjum said they just need to head to the Division Street or Sixth Street intersections with Central Avenue, as all the others will be closed off.

The parking lot behind The Golf Box also will be closed to motorists because it will be occupied by a country singer, fans and food trucks.

One of the regulars who comes to play rounds at The Golf Box is the brother of Cory Farley, a country singer and songwriter based in Nashville. When the owners of the golf simulator business learned Farley was coming to the region and had an open date, co-owner Alica Laube said they decided to book him. They’re charging $15 admission to help cover his fee. Concert goers can grab dinner and drinks from the food trucks and a beer and seltzer truck that will be outside, or head inside The Golf Box to grab a drink from the full bar, to play a round of virtual golf and purchase tickets for a raffle for golf clubs.

For those who’d prefer a free indoor concert in a historic setting, the Over and Back Band will be performing a few blocks away. The band fronted by hall-of-fame Faribault fiddler Mike Hildebrandt kicks off the Merner Concert Series in the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour.

All shows in the series are free thanks to an endowment. The formerly classical music series got a revamp last year to include a more diverse lineup and that will continue this year, with additional performances scheduled in July, August, September and October.