500 Festival’s Free Gavin DeGraw Concert
The 500 Festival will kick-off the month of May and celebrate its 2013 theme, “TurboCharging Indy” with a free concert at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 27, on Monument Circle.
The 500 Festival REV Your Engines Concert will feature multi-platinum recording artist Gavin DeGraw and Indiana native Jon McLaughlin. The musicians will be introduced by IZOD IndyCar Series driver James Hinchcliffe and Firestone Indy Lights driver Zach Veach, respectively.
Gavin DeGraw is not a stranger to the top of the charts. He first broke through with the 2003 release of his debut album, “Chariot,” which sold over a million copies, earned platinum certification, and yielded three hit singles: “I Don’t Want To Be,” “Follow Through,” and the title-track, “Chariot.”
Gavin’s self-titled second album debuted at No. 1 on the digital sales chart and at No. 7 on Billboard’s Top 200 album chart in 2008, earning Gavin his first Top 10 album. DeGraw recently collaborated with two-time Grammy winning singer/songwriter Colbie Caillat on their duet “We Both Knew.”
Jon McLaughlin has sold more than 170,000 albums and more than 1 million digital tracks. McLaughlin released his 2007 debut album “Indiana,” followed by “OK Now” in 2008. Following this, McLaughlin’s song “So Close” was featured in Disney’s “Enchanted” starring Patrick Dempsey and Amy Adams.
McLaughlin was later asked to perform “So Close” at the 2008 Academy Awards. His most recent album “Promising Promises” was released last year and includes his latest single “Summer Is Over” featuring Sara Bareilles.
Food trucks and a beer garden will also be available to guests during the event. The northwest and entire south side of Monument Circle including the south spoke to Washington Street will be closed starting at 3 p.m. Saturday and will reopen at 1 a.m.