PORTLAND — A wide array of talent will play across the city on Wednesdays and Thursdays during free Summer in the Parks Concerts that start this week.

The Friends of the Eastern Promenade series at Fort Sumner Park on North Street opens at 7 p.m. Thursday with gypsy jazz band Mes Amis.

Shows will be about an hour long and continue weekly through Aug. 28. Also scheduled are Travis Humphrey & the Honky Tonk Love Machine on July 10, the Jason Spooner Band on July 31, and the Jerks of Grass on Aug. 7. For the full schedule, visit the Friends website.

The bandstand at Deering Oaks Park will be the site of Crusher’s Kids Concerts in the Park, beginning July 10 at 12:30 p.m., with the animal show Spark’s Ark. Also appearing are songstress Sammie Haynes on July 17, and camp songs by Jon Call on July 24. The shows, sponsored by the Maine Red Claws and Quirk Chevrolet, conclude with an Aug. 7  presentation on potions by the University of Southern Maine Chemistry Club.

On the Western Promenade, the Sunset Folk Series begins at 8 p.m. July 9 with Gunther Brown. Darien Brahms appears July 16, and singer/songwriter Anna Lombard on Aug. 6. The series concludes Aug. 13. Shows on July 16 and 23 begin at 7:45 p.m. and the July 30, Aug. 6 and Aug 13 shows start at 7:30 p.m. The series is sponsored by Families of the Western Prom Neighborhood.

David Harry can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 110 or dharry@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidHarry8.