?The sun was blazing, but the beer was cold. Everyone�s attention was focused on the stage, where the band Seven had just started a song with a rollicking beat.
Seven, a Levittown band, joined several other area rock �n� roll acts Saturday at the Newportville Fire Co. for Teddy Dugan�s reunion of his popular Summerfest concerts.
Her feet tapping, Karen Grissell Harrigan of Bristol Township�s Newportville section danced in her seat under one of the many tents dotting the lawn.
She smiled and whistled at the band on stage.
�I came out to have a good time. And also, for meeting my soul mate,� she said, laughing.
Sitting next to her was musician Dave Justice, who used to play bass for 1980s band Dead End Kids and has opened for James Brown during his career with different bands.
At a rock �n� roll concert, he�s usually on stage, not in the audience, but on this day he wanted to watch the action.
�There�s a lot of reunions these days because people are disheartened with music today. When drum machines and synthesizers came out, they really changed music. The bands that are playing here today, they�re a return to real, guttural, visceral music. It�s the real sound, not synthesized. You won�t see Britney Spears playing today,� he said.
People sheltered under tents at first, but were soon up and dancing under the bright sun.
The reunion drew people who remember attending Dugan�s annual Summerfest concerts 20 years ago. They looked forward to seeing returning bands, including Tommy Conwell, Diamond Dogs, Heaven�s Edge The Hooters, and David Uosikkinen, a Levittown native and member of The Hooters.
�It was the music we grew up with,� said Patti Messinger of Bristol Township, who arrived early and planned to stay through the evening.
Her husband, Bill Messinger, said he enjoys all the bands expected to play Saturday. He was especially looking forward to checking out Skeleton Crew, a Van Halen tribute band.
�It�s just good old rock n� roll,� said Messinger, who also attends Dugan�s annual Halloween costume party in Levittown.
Dugan, a Bristol Township native, used to throw summer concerts in town featuring both local bands and newcomers.
Instead of having a concert with bands that play the latest rock music, Dugan decided it was time to bring back the bands that made Summerfest a popular Levittown event a generation ago.
It�s never been easy juggling the logistics of putting on a concert event. And Dugan does it all himself, though his girlfriend, Kelly Robidoux, is indispensable, he added.
Many of the same sound technicians and stage hands have been with Dugan for years, and Deon�s Beverage always provides the refreshments, he said.
Long before he started organizing concerts, Dugan used to hold small events behind the former Bishop Egan High School during school dances.
�I�d buy half a keg of beer and collect $2 from the kids that didn�t want to go to the dance,� he said, laughing.
Dugan graduated to throwing concerts at local venues. His first such event was at a VFW in 1981.
He went to his first Bucks County Blues Society picnic concert in 1983 and decided to organize a similar concert. For years, Summerfest took place at the Moose Lodge on New Falls Road.
With the closing of the lodge came the end of Summerfest.