Jazz, blues, classic rock and country music are on the marquee as Ironstone Vineyards announced its summer concert series line up over the weekend.

"This summer is our best lineup to date," said winery President Steven Kautz, "featuring a wide variety of fantastic musical experiences. It's going to be a lot of fun."

The series kicks off July 8 as popular party band Earth, Wind & Fire brings its electrifying stage show to the Ironstone Amphitheatre.

On July 21, country music artist Gretchen Wilson appears with special guest, John Montgomery. Classic rock comes to the Mother Lode when Lynyrd Skynyrd with Kenny Wayne Shepherd performs July 22.

The Fillmore Wine and Groove Festival visits on Aug. 18, with reggae act UB40, blues guitarist Keb Mo (who appeared at Ironstone last summer with Bonnie Raitt), The Robert Cray Band and David Lindley.

Eighties rockers Huey Lewis and the Blues perform on Aug. 19, with another '80s group, The English Beat.

On Sept. 7, the only show that falls on a Friday night, country music legend Vince Gill and The Friends and Family Tour stops in Murphys. Gill is joined by Amy Grant and the Del McCoury Band, named the International Bluegrass Music Association's Entertainer of the Year nine times since 1994.

Perennial favorites The Doobie Brothers and rock guitarist Peter Frampton appear on Sept. 8 and the series concludes with the B.B. King Blues Festival on Sept. 9. The festival includes blues music heavyweights King, Al Green and Etta James performing with The Roots Band.

"They are only playing 12 shows this summer, starting in Florida," Kautz enthused. "For us to be able to land a concert of this magnitude is great for us."

Kautz said concert goers can look forward to some improvements at the amphitheater this year. The reserved seating area will no longer have tables set up so that more folks can get up close to the stage, and the seats in the reserved section have all been upgraded. There will be much larger video screens, which allow guests in the unreserved section better views of the performers via the venue's closed-circuit video system. And concession stands have been upgraded.

"There are more food and beverage concessions and the food is of a higher quality," Kautz said Monday.

The reserved seating area has been reconfigured for this year's concerts. Platinum Dinner package tickets include front row seats and a pre-show, four-course winemaker dinner. Gold seating offers seating in the first several rows with no meal and Silver seating provides reserved seats with a buffet dinner. There are then reserved seats available with no meal and general admission tickets for the lawn.

Tickets are now available to the winery's wine club members. They go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m., Friday, through ticketmaster.com or by calling 551-8497. If available, tickets will be sold at the amphitheater on the day of each concert.

For more information, call 728-1251 or visit ironstonevineyards.com.

"Come out and enjoy a wonderful evening under the stars - combining great music with fabulous food and wine," Kautz said.

Contact Mike Taylor at mtaylor@calaverasenterprise.com.