The modern Top 40 Country Band Hillbilly Parade opened this year’s Friday Night Concert series at the Cluett Schantz Park in Milton. The band is comprised of vocalist Cheyenne See, acoustic guitarist/vocalist Jason Casterlin, bassist Chris Palestro, drummer Christian Cea, pianist John Repko and lead guitarist Rob Piaquadio.

Cheyenne said Casterlin founded the band in 2014 and she is, “their third female singer and hopefully sticking around,” She said the rest of the members are from Orange County.

Cheyenne said they perform mostly top 40 country music as a full 6 member band, but they also have four and three piece acoustic configurations.

“We usually end our sets with ‘Sweet Child of Mine,’ by Guns and Roses because it’s a fun one and gets everybody up and going,” she said.

Several times Cheyenne came off the stage and enticed members of the audience to try a few simple line dancing routines.

“We make sure that we are not background music, that’s our motto,” she said.

Cheyenne said in the beginning the band cut their teeth performing in bars, but in recent years they have been playing festivals, wineries, fireworks shows, Town Celebration Days and weddings.

“We’re trying to get a little more professional and get into bigger venues and more important spaces,” she said. “We’ve worked very, very hard to get to where we are.”

More information about the band and their performance schedule can be found on their website, www.hillbillyparadeband.com or by calling 845-787-6189.

There are three more Friday night concerts coming up, all starting at 7:30 p.m.: 80s themed Cold Flavor Repair on July 15; Soul Purpose performing 70’s Funk, Soul and R&B on July 22 and to close out the series, the hard rock/psychedelic Alpha Male Gorillas on July 29. Fireworks will end the evening’s festivities.