Fort Lauderdale is closing out summer with a free concert headlined by funk legends The Ohio Players, set for Friday, August 21, at Mills Pond Park. The show runs from 7 to 10 pm at the park, located at 2201 NW 9th Ave., and admission is free to the public.
The city announced the lineup in a social media post from the City of Fort Lauderdale, reposted by the account promoting the annual Summer Jamz series and its Play Lauderdale initiative. The Ohio Players are set to perform their catalog of funk hits as part of the free outdoor show, according to the City of Fort Lauderdale. Residents with questions about the event can reach the city at 954-828-8000.
The Ohio Players are best known for two Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles in the mid-1970s, “Fire” in February 1975 and “Love Rollercoaster” in January 1976, both of which also topped the Billboard Hot Soul/R&B chart, according to uDiscoverMusic. “Fire,” recorded at Paragon Studios in Chicago, famously opens with an authentic fire-truck siren woven into its instrumental break, and Stevie Wonder reportedly heard an early version of the track and predicted it would become a major hit, per Wikipedia.
A Band With Deep Funk Roots
The band's history stretches back more than six decades. The Ohio Players originally formed in Dayton, Ohio, in 1959 as the Ohio Untouchables, adopting their permanent name in 1965 and scoring their first Billboard R&B number-one single with “Funky Worm” in 1973, per Wikipedia. Before becoming multi-platinum recording artists, the group got its start as a backing band for The Falcons.
The band's legacy has continued to draw fresh recognition. In June, The Ohio Players were announced as headline inductees for the 2026 class of the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame alongside The Isley Brothers and The O'Jays, as previously reported by Hoodline, with the formal induction ceremony scheduled for July during Cincinnati Music Festival week.
Mills Pond Park's Role as a Community Hub
Mills Pond Park, the venue hosting Summer Jamz, is a 130- to 156-acre regional facility in northwest Fort Lauderdale's Lauderdale Manors neighborhood. The park features a five-field softball complex, lighted athletic fields, a water ski lake, and a radio-controlled car track, according to Visit Lauderdale, and it's easily accessible from Interstate 95.
Beyond recreation, the park serves a critical municipal function during severe weather. The city has previously activated Mills Pond Park as a designated emergency distribution site where residents can pick up free sandbags during flood watches, including during major flooding rains in June 2024, as Hoodline reported at the time in a story on the city's flood recovery efforts.
Family Activities and Free Admission
Beyond the mainstage performance, Summer Jamz features a designated kids' zone with bounce houses and yard games, along with local food, beverage, and merchandise vendors. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets to the free event, according to city event details.
Summer Jamz has a track record of bringing national R&B talent to Mills Pond Park for free. Past headliners have included R&B artist Carl Thomas in August 2025, 1990s group Jagged Edge in August 2024, and Bell Biv DeVoe in August 2021. The concert also caps off Fort Lauderdale's broader summer programming, which includes the 72nd Annual David Deal Playday celebration, a tradition established in 1953 and renamed in 1971 to honor a prominent local educator, spanning multiple weeks of free sports and family events across city parks.
The concert is organized by Fort Lauderdale's Parks and Recreation Department, which operates more than 40 public parks and facilities across the city under its Play Lauderdale community initiative promoting active living and public gatherings.
