WEEHAWKEN AND BEYOND -- The Weehawken waterfront will come alive with the sound of music once again as Hudson River Performing Arts Center (HRPAC) kicks off their summer series of concerts set in Lincoln Harbor Park on Wednesday.

Legendary singer, songwriter, and all around good time guy Gary U.S. Bonds will kick off this year’s concerts on July 6.

Bonds had several hits in the early 1960s but then resurfaced in 1981 with a top 40 hit, “This Little Girl (Is Mine).”

Though he’s often mistaken for a Jersey boy (a side effect from hanging out with Bruce Springsteen), Bonds is originally from Virginia and has lived in New York for the past 37 years.

Still, he’ll be bringing the Jersey shore spirit – as well as classics like “Quarter to Three” and “New Orleans” – to the west bank of the Hudson River next Wednesday.

He told the Reporter that concert attendees better be ready to get down and have some fun.

“We’ll be there for a while, so buckle up,” he said.

Anything goes

Concert goers should know that “anything goes” when they arrive on Wednesday. Bonds’ concerts often don’t have a regular set and even if there is one, it often gets changed to cater to what the people want.

“We have fun,” said Bonds. “This is what my music has always been about.We’ve been kicking it like that for 50 years now.”

Finish This, a local band, will open the series premiere concert on June 6 at 6 p.m. Gary U.S. Bonds will hit the stage at 7 p.m.

For a full story, see this weekend's Reporter newspapers starting Sunday at hudsonreporter.com.