Promoters for new Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre announced the concert lineup for the musical season this summer.

Several big acts are scheduled including:

Saturday, June 15 – Michael Stanley and the Resonators & Donnie Iris and the Cruisers

Friday, June 28 – Chicago

Friday, July 5 – Earth, Wind and Fire

Saturday, August 10 – The music of Queen, featuring the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra.

Tickets go on sale Friday, April 12 at 10 a.m. They can be purchased at Livenation.com and Ticketmaster.com.

Christian Rinehart, who owns a few restaurants downtown, understands the financial impact that the amphitheater will have.

“When there are events down at Covelli or events in the city, we see a huge spike. It almost doubles your average sales of a weekend,” he says.

He says the summers are tough because students aren’t on YSU’s campus.

“We usually see about a 20% to 30% decrease in sales so this amphitheater should not only fix that lull in sales but actually increase the sales.”

For the students who stick around during the summer, they say they will definitely walk from the restaurants to the amphitheater for concerts.

“I don’t see why not, and a lot of the students do live in the apartments downtown,” says YSU student Xena Maali.

Some Youngstown professionals who live in the area are on the same page.

“I’ve been anticipating it as a lot of residents downtown have been. You know, I feel like it’s going to be the next tipping point for downtown,” says resident Travis Pownell.

Several other local acts are planned this summer for the venue, including several sponsored by Home Savings.

“It’s very important to have extra activities going on downtown to kind of add to the mix, to bring people out of the suburbs and get them to come and patronize the downtown area again,” says Joey Mamounis from Avalon Pizza.

Mamounis says he has seen the change downtown firsthand.

“Been here through the thin times and the thick. You know, we’re happy to see the new burst of energy here in Youngstown,” he says.

For more information, visit theyoungstownfoundationamp.com.