Bond … Jayne Bond and her band are ready to get people grooving.

If you do attend Thursday’s kickoff concert for the third year of Seymour CityJam, be prepared to dance to music by Jayne Bond and the Pink Martinis and participate in a conga line or dance or hula-hoop contest.

“It’s going to be an hour-and-a-half straight through show with high energy and audience participation,” said lead singer Chris Stone, also known as Jayne Bond. “We will be involving the audience.”

The band is no stranger to Seymour, having played at Oktoberfest and Southern Indiana Center for the Arts events in the past.

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“The people are great,” Stone said. “It’s almost starting to feel like family because we see so many of the same people. Everybody is really receptive and friendly, and they come up and talk to us before and after the show.”

The free show, sponsored by Jay C Food Stores, JCB, Seymour Crossing and The Tribune, starts at 6 p.m. Thursday on a stage on East Second Street between the railroad tracks and Ewing Street.

At 5:30 p.m., The Pines will begin selling food, Bartholomew County Beverage will sell beer and wine, and Orange Leaf will have frozen yogurt.

Representatives from Southern Indiana Center for the Arts will roam the audience during the show to collect donations for the Seymour facility, which offers art camps, ballet classes, private art lessons, instructional art classes, festivals and a public gallery for displaying local artists’ work.

Jayne Bond and the Pink Martinis is the perfect act to start the concert series, since it features mainly upbeat cover songs, colorful costumes and high-energy choreography, organizers say.

Joining Stone in the band is her husband, Jeff, also known as Armond Flint, on bass, guitar and vocals. Also playing and singing are Seymour native John Whitcomb, also known as Parker O’Dowd, on guitar; Larry Sauer (“Whiskey Sauer”) on drums; Darren Vincent (“Bobby Stardust”) on keyboards; and Tom Clark (“Cuba Jones III”) on saxophone, bass and percussion.

Providing dancing entertainment are Karen Witte and Sho Riley as the Martini Sisters, Vodka and Gin Martini. Riley used to be a Pacemate dancer for the NBA’s Indiana Pacers.

The Stones and Sauer are the original members of the group, which started in 1997 as a six-piece jazz band.

It later changed into a dance party band, and the Martini Sisters were added. The band plays at festivals, corporate parties, conventions, wedding receptions and other special events.

Whitcomb now lives in Nashville, and Clark lives in Bloomington, but most of the other members are from the Indianapolis area.

Chris Stone said all of the members except the dancers have their own separate ventures, either doing solo projects or playing with other bands.

CityJam will feature three other shows — Terry Lee and the Rockaboogie Band on July 16, Sounds of Summer on Aug. 20 and Old Salt Union on Sept. 17.

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What: Seymour CityJam outdoor concert

When: 6 p.m. Thursday

Where: East Second Street between the railroad tracks and Ewing Street in downtown Seymour

Who: Jayne Bond and the Pink Martinis

Cost: Admission is free, but food, drinks and desserts will be sold by The Pines, Bartholomew County Beverage and Orange Leaf

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