Rockets & rock 'n' roll

Heavy metal, Dixieland and patriotic music will provide the prelude to fireworks displays around on the Fourth of July.

The Shawnee Saltpetre Cave near Murphysboro, Ill., will host the Scottish heavy metal band Nazareth Thursday in a festival that also will include the bands Cynical, Joy Ride and Cape Girardeau's Drivin' Rain.

In Cape Girardeau, the "Red, White and Blue River Walk" begins at 6 p.m., when visitors are encouraged to walk downtown. The Jerry Ford Dixieland Band will begin playing at 6:30 p.m. The Cape Girardeau Municipal Band will play patriotic music at 7:45 p.m. at the corner of Themis and Spanish streets.

The fireworks will begin at 9:20 p.m., with Mayor Jay Knudtson serving as host. The fireworks will be fired from the river and will be choreographed to music.

At Jackson City Park, the Jaycees' annual celebration will begin with mud volleyball at 8 a.m. and will include a car show, kiddie rides and games and a tractor pull. The Jackson Municipal Band will play at the band shell after the colors are presented at 8 p.m. The Jaycees will begin shooting off $10,000 worth of fireworks at 9:30.

"We just try to make it a fun day at the park where everybody can come down and have a good time," says Randy Sander, a member of the Jaycees.

Nazareth's album "Hair of the Dog" sold more than a million copies in the United States thanks to the hit "Love Hurts." The band went on hiatus in the mid-1980s. It now includes two of the original members.

The Fourth of July schedule includes:

Music and fireworks at Riverfront Park, Cape Girardeau. 6:30 p.m Nazareth, Drivin' Rain and other bands, Shawnee Saltpetre Cave, on Highway 127, seven miles south of Murphysboro, Ill. Music begins at 2:30 p.m. The grounds are open for camping Wednesday. Tickets are $18 and include camping and parking. Tickets are available at Warehouse Music in Cape Girardeau and at Joey's restaurant in East Cape Girardeau.

Music and fireworks at Riverfront Park, Cape Girardeau. 6:30 p.m.

Music and fireworks at Riverfront Park, Cape Girardeau. 6:30 p.m Jackson July 4 Celebration, 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Jackson City Park.

sblackwell@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182