It’s time to grab your 20 closest friends, your picnic blanket, and your travel grill and head to City Park for Sunday night jazz. Tonight’s concert, featuring Cocktail Revolution, is from 6 to 8 p.m. and marks the beginning of the 23rd season of the summer festival.

Bob Nelson, vice president of City Park Jazz’s board, says the concerts have been drawing 4,000 to 5,000 audience members per show, a notable increase from the first year, when around 100 people attended. For that reason, he recommends that jazz lovers arrive by 5 p.m. for a good spot.

For those of us who aren’t ambitious enough to bring our own grills, food (think hamburgers, hot dogs, and kettle corn) and drink are available for purchase on-site, although no alcohol will be sold. The concert is free, but consider that it costs around $7,000 to put one on, so keep an eye out for the donation hat.

Give back: If you want to help City Park Jazz, sign up to volunteer through its website. Volunteers help sell t-shirts and collect donations.

Go green: BikeDenver is offering free, secured bike parking from 4:30-9 p.m. for those of us who like to cut back on our carbon footprint and avoid the hassles of parking.

Read more: Check out the July issue of 5280 for a backpage interview with City Park Jazz’s Joe Lewis, who talks about selecting the bands for the festival and how it has grown over the years.

Sun, Jun. 7, 6-8 p.m.

City Park, 17th Avenue and Steele Street, official website