By Megan Krause

The King Arts Complex will kick off its “Live at the Heritage” 10th anniversary concert series July 10.

This free concert series, sponsored by JP Morgan Chase and Smooth Jazz WJZA, will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. every Thursday in Mayme Moore Park, 240 Martin Luther King Blvd.

Musicians will perform various genres including jazz, classic R&B and blues. Shawn “Thunder” Wallace will perform July 17 and Arnett Howard will perform July 31.

To mark the 10th anniversary, a two-disc compilation of musicians from the last 10 concert series’ will be available for patrons to purchase starting Aug. 7.

Overall, however, little else will change from past seasons. “Just a little bit of the atmosphere is different,” says Kay Wiebell, Marketing and Membership Director for the King Arts Center.

Photographs commemorating audience members from past concerts will accompany the photographs of past performers.

The atmosphere will also be more appealing to children this year. The series will promote music education by offering Columbus’ youth the opportunity to interact with artists on the patio. The King Arts Complex encourages children of all ages to participate.

Musicians will return to what was dubbed “The Cradle of Jazz” in the 1930s. In the past, artists acted as mentors for young people, and “Live at the Heritage” plans to continue the tradition.

The content of these sessions will be up to the artists themselves. It may be anything from showing them how instruments work to discussing how they became involved in music, Wiebell says.

The “Live at the Heritage” concert series will run through August 28. For more information, visit www.kingartscomplex.com.