ALBANY - Country and rock singer Rosanne Cash will headline this year's River Rhythms concert series that opens July 3 at Monteith Riverpark in Albany.

Seven concerts presented by the Albany Parks and Recreation Department are scheduled on successive Thursday nights during this 20th season. All begin at 7 p.m. The concerts are free.

A variety of art activities for children will begin at 5:30 p.m. Food vendors will open their booths at 5 p.m.

Blanket seating close to the stage is an option again this year, with concertgoers able to mark out their spots only after 4 p.m. on concert days.

Fireworks will follow the July 3 concert only, said Sarah Giboney of the parks department. There will be no fireworks after the last concert, which is traditional. That is because the Northwest Art & Air Fair starts the next day, and there will be fireworks at that event.

The Oregon Symphony will not appear as part of the series this year, she said. It has become too costly to bring the group to Albany. The symphony charges between $22,000 and $26,000 to make an appearance.

If an individual or group wants to sponsor the symphony, the group could be booked for next year, Giboney said.

Rosanne Cash, 47, is the daughter of country great Johnny Cash. On her latest album, released in March, she sings a duet with her father. The new album, "Rules of Travel," is her first singing outing in nearly two and a half years. In 1998, Cash lost her voice from a polyp on her vocal cords complicated by pregnancy.

Born in Memphis and now living in New York City, Cash has had 11 No. 1 hits on the country music charts.

Here is the lineup:

July 3 - Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, swing and jump blues band.

July 10 - The Subdudes, rock, blues, folk rock and gospel group.

July 17 - Roseanne Cash, rock and country singer.

July 24 - Suzanne Vega, contemporary folk singer.

July 31 - Oliver "Tuku" Mtu Kudzi, music from Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Aug. 7 - Robert Earl Keen, bluegrass and country singer.

Aug. 14 - Cubanismo-Cuban, jazz, rhythm and blues and reggae group.

For more concert information, contact the parks department at 917-7777 or see the city of Albany Web site: www.ci.albany.or.us.