Every summer, Downtown Sacramento hosts a free music festival series, Concerts in the Park, featuring local bands and artists.

This year, the festival is back for its 28th season, starting off on May 3 and set to continue every Friday until July 26.

Sacramento State students voted Concerts in the Park as “Best Concert in Sacramento” and “Best Sacramento Event” in The State Hornet’s third annual Best of Sac State poll.

This year’s lineup includes musical genres like hip-hop, pop rock, alternative rock and rap. Artists performing include Souls of Mischief, Dreamers, Emarosa, Lyrics Born, SHAED and many more.

Concerts in the Park started off as a small project to showcase local bands and artists, giving them a platform to perform for the Sacramento community. Public Relations Senior Specialist for Downtown Sac Jordyn Anderson shared that the show has come a long way since its inception.

“It started off as one really small show with a few kegs of beers,” Anderson said. “We never expected it to get this big but I’m glad it did. We wanted to bring that true festival experience.”

In 1991, the festival started off with an attendance of roughly 300 people but over time, it grew and now they get about 6,000 attendees per night. Their highest attendance yet was 8,500 people.

Sacramento’s very own Hobo Johnson & the LoveMakers will headline this year’s CIP. The group performed at CIP in 2017, and were set to perform last year until there was an issue with scheduling.

Hobo Johnson also won the vote for “Best Local Musician” in the Best of Sac State poll.

RELATED: Meet the self-described “good kids” behind Hobo Johnson

june 7. downtown sacramento. free. https://t.co/elc9iy2Im2

— Hobo Johnson (@_HoboJohnson) March 27, 2019

Sociology major Valerie Saavedra said she attended Concerts in the Park for the first time last year. She heard about the event through a friend that attended in the past and told her it was a fun experience.

“I got really chill and open vibes as soon as I got there. I was excited to see people dancing or relaxing and watching the show when I went,” Saavedra said.

The series will be held at Cesar Chavez Plaza in Downtown Sacramento, with local favorite Joy & Madness headlining opening night.

The festival is free for all ages, and will include other amenities such art, food trucks and small clothing shops.

Concerts in the Park also provides free bicycle parking, as event organizers encourage attendees to bike there to avoid the traffic. A Lyft booth can also provide ride-sharing assistance and even, some free swag.

See the full roster of Concerts in the Park’s performers here.

For a full list of 2019 Best of Sac State results, click here.