PHOTO PROVIDED Pictured from left are the five members of Yetsu  They are: Mike Nickerson, Mike Watkins, Joe Callahan, Joe Narde and Sean Monroe.

The Deane Center for the Performing Arts is presenting six free concerts on its outdoor stage beginning with Yetsu next Friday, May 1 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The outdoor stage faces Central Avenue on the side of the Deane Center building, 104 Main St., Wellsboro.

“Yetsu is a five-member band that plays at venues throughout the Twin Tiers,” a news release said. “Included are: Joe Callahan of Wellsboro on guitar; Sean Monroe of Horseheads, New York on bass guitar; Mike Watkins of Addison, New York on keyboard, accordion, mandolin and fiddle; and Mike Nickerson on drums and Joe Narde on percussion, both of Corning, New York.”

The name Yetsu is a play on words that pays homage to drummer Mike Nickerson’s father’s military background.

“This ‘organic rock ‘n roll’ band will perform their rock to roots, blues to country, pop to indie original music,” the news release said. “The five collaborate on writing and arranging their music and share the roles of lead and harmony vocalists from song to song, capitalizing on their well-known powerhouse sound.”

The public is invited to attend any or all of these six free concerts made possible by sponsor UPMC Health Plan.

“Bring a lawn chair or a blanket and sit in the grassy area in front of the outdoor stage or on Central Avenue, which will be closed to motor vehicle traffic from the Warehouse Theatre to Main Street,” the news release said.

If it rains, a concert will be moved indoors.

The first five outdoor concerts are being held in conjunction with Wellsboro’s First Friday, a community street festival on Main Street on the first Friday of each month from May through September. Between 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. each street festival will feature local vendors, live music, food, artisan goods and special activities for kids. There will not be a First Friday event in October when the sixth concert is held on Friday, Oct. 2.

The other free concerts in the series are from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on the following Fridays: the Wellsboro Men’s and Women’s Choruses singing music from movies and Broadway on June 5; Van Wagner performing acoustic folk, bluegrass, and blues tunes based on Pennsylvania history on July 3; the Infared Radiation Ochestra singing 1960s and 1970s psychedelic rock on Friday, Aug. 7; the Cadillac Cats performing funkin’ blues on Sept. 4; and Hot Rod Mule singing and playing hard-driving bluegrass and country music on Oct. 2.

For more information about the free concert series, call the Deane Center at 570-724-6220, email office@deanecenter.com or visit deanecenter.com.