"We are very eclectic," said Joe Hillman of The Joe Hillman Band when describing the type of music that audiences will hear as the band performs as part of the Honey Brook Borough Concerts in the Park Series. "They will hear a lot of different covers, some traditional bluegrassy kind of music, some John Hartford music, Grateful Dead-style music and some Bob Marley."

The Joe Hillman Band will perform in Honey Brook for the first time on Sunday, July 10, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. in Honey Brook Borough Park, 71 Pequea Ave. (Route 10), Honey Brook. In lieu of an admission fee, nonperishable food donations will be accepted for the Honey Brook Food Pantry.

The bluegrass band consists of Hillman, who is the lead singer and plays the mandolin; guitarist and fiddler Jordan Rast; and Charlie Muench, who plays the upright bass and banjo. Rast and Muench also provide vocals.

Hillman began singing in a choir at the age of 7 and trained in classical voice, piano and French horn. In the 1980s and 1990s, Hillman was the lead singer of the band Modern Beatnik. In 2001, he founded The Long Trail Band, known today as The Joe Hillman Band.

Rast was originally trained in Suzuki violin but chose songwriting and playing the fiddle over classical music. "Jordan comes from a musical family," noted Hillman. "His father is a professional and regional touring banjo player. Jordan has been playing since he was a wee child."

Muench started playing the upright bass in his elementary school orchestra at the age of 9. He studied music education at West Chester University, graduating in 2011. Muench is also a founding member of The Stray Birds.

The three-piece band plays acoustically using only stringed instruments. "If you were to break down a bluegrass band into its essential form, there is the melody and the dance beat," Hillman explained. "The relationship between the bass and the mandolin covers what the drums would be doing. It's the fundamental three instruments of a bluegrass band. The father of bluegrass, Bill Monroe, was a mandolin player."

Hillman said that he and the other musicians are familiar with the challenges of playing outdoors. "Through (the pandemic) we performed mainly outdoors," he pointed out. "We played in the wintertime to people when it was 30 degrees outside because people wanted to hear music and they felt safe outside."

In Honey Brook, audience members will be able to sing along and dance during the concert. "People love to dance to bluegrass music or bluegrassy-style music," Hillman said.

For more information about the band or to listen to music from its newest release, "Mando Jukebox," visit http://www.joehillmanband.com or http://www.facebook.com/joehillmanband.

Details about upcoming concerts in the series are available at http://www.honeybrookborough.net by selecting "Public Info" and then "Concerts in the Park." In the event of inclement weather, the decision to cancel will be made by 1 p.m. on the day of the show. A cancellation message will be recorded on the borough phone line at 610-273-2020.