Heavy Petty returns to the “Free Fridays” Concert Series with a tribute to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Friday, Sept. 1 from 8-10 p.m. Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Famer Tom Petty is one of the most famous musicians to hail from Gainesville, Florida. Heavy Petty is Gainesville’s own Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers tribute band. The band first played on Valentine's night in 2010 at Common Grounds in downtown Gainesville. Since then, the five-piece rock ‘n’ roll band has played many different events and venues in and around Gainesville. Heavy Petty prides itself in playing Tom Petty songs with attention paid to strict interpretation, but also in being able to rock out, have a lot of fun and get the crowd involved.
The concert also features original songs by the group under the band name Hedges. Hedges will have their album “Mixed Signals” available at the concert. To make the album, the band worked with legendary music producer and engineer Don Zientara of Inner Ear studio in Washington, DC. Zientara is best known for his work with such bands as Minor Threat, Bad Brains and Foo Fighters.
Jason Hedges (lead vocals/guitar/harmonica) is the front man for both bands, taking on the role of Tom Petty in the tribute. Hedges is a natural entertainer, and easily gets crowds riled up and singing along. Other members of the bands include Daniel App (lead guitar/backing vocals), Jonathan McCravy (bass), Logan Fischer (drums) and Stuart Strome (keyboards), with Brian Stevens and Andy Lawniczac on horns.
The Heavy Petty concert is one of the select “Free Fridays” classic rock concerts that are sponsored by classic rock radio station WIND-FM (92.5, 95.5, 107.9).
Free Fridays is presented by the City of Gainesville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department and funded in part by Culture Builds Florida. The entire “Free Fridays” 2017 schedule can be viewed at
www.freefridaysgnv.com.The Bo Diddley Plaza is located at 111 E. University Ave. in downtown Gainesville.