Lead singer and guitarist "Spiffy" Sean Styles.

Band opener Grungebox and headliner Walk of Shame will perform for Dunkirk’s no-cost Music on the Pier Summer Concert Series on the Dunkirk Pier stage on Thursday to welcome Dunkirk Festivals’ Fired Up For Summer Kickoff.

The concert series is presented by DFT Communications with National Grid as the stage sponsor and Advanced Production Group (APG) as the stage/sound providers.

Sponsored by Refresco, the 90’s Night opening act of Grungebox will start at 5:25 p.m. with Walk of Shame performing at 6:45 p.m.

Formed in 2019, Grungebox hails from the Western New York area and specializes in nineties rock with songs from that era by Sound Garden, Nirvana, Collective Soul, Alice In Chains, Lit, Green Day, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots among other 90’s rock bands. Grungebox band members consist of Rick Dorigo (guitar/vocals), Jim Dill (bass/vocals) and Mike Tantillo (drums/vocals).

Request a song and drink along has been the motto for nationally touring party band Walk of Shame for over a decade. The band has developed a fun, interactive show that is part comedy, part music, and part Jagerbomb that guarantees that you will never see the same show twice.

Lead singer and guitarist “Spiffy” Sean Styles considers himself a “90’s one hit wonder” expert and it’s not uncommon to hear a great mix of forgotten 90’s hits mixed in throughout the show.

Rounding out the band is Matt Muckle on drums, John Barrett with lead guitar and Mitch Kumstein on bass.

The band also performs as “Walk of Love” – an award winning wedding band that offers customized, all-inclusive entertainment packages for all occasions.

On Thursday pier concert dates, the pier will be closed to traffic at 2 p.m. Guests are reminded to bring a chair. Food trucks and other vendors will be on site along with the city beverage tent. The Dunkirk Boardwalk Marketplace and surrounding businesses will also be open.

The City of Dunkirk and Dunkirk Professional Firefighters Local 616 will host the 2024 Dunkirk Firefighter Hose Race Block Party on Friday, June 7 starting at 6 p.m. by the boardwalk.

The event is sponsored by DFT Communications, National Grid, The Spot on the Lake and G & E Tents. DJ Giulia of Star Sirch will provide the tunes followed by an awards ceremony. Flipside will play live music starting at 7:30 until 10:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the boardwalk.

The boardwalk parking area will be closed off to vehicles and traffic from 3 to 11 p.m. to prepare for the block party. Central Avenue between Lake Shore Drive and the Dunkirk Pier will be closed off from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. that evening. Flipside, based in the southtowns of Orchard Park, is a high energy, audience interactive and performance-oriented group that performs a variety of music genres including party rock, classic pop, country and dance.

The lineup of talented musicians is Mark Christy (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), John Lajoie (lead guitar, vocals), Paul Satkievich (bass guitar, vocals), and Davey Genau (drums, vocals).

The event is open to the public with food/drink and gift specials from the boardwalk merchants and surrounding businesses. Children are encouraged to wear their bathing suits/water shoes and bring towels for a fun hydrant sprinkler. Interested Chautauqua County fire departments that would like to participate in the hose races should contact Michael Edwards, Dunkirk Fire Chief, at (716) 366-2630 or medwards@cityofdunkirk.com. For more information about Dunkirk’s summer schedule of events or local attractions, please visit www.cityofdunkirk.com or Facebook at Dunkirk Festivals & Special Events or call Scott Mekus at (716) 366-9848.