The cowboy hats and the southern twang of Heartsfield say country. But the music of the Chicago-based band that will perform in Monument Square on Saturday night isn't easily corralled with just one word.

Soulful, down-home sound. Distinct vocal harmonies. Rootsy, swampy, foot-stompin' country rock with bits of folk and jazz blended in. A "guitar army" backed up with fiddle, mandolin, jaw harp and drums, Heartsfield is a slice of Americana.

These words and many more have been used to describe Heartsfield, which came onto the music scene in the early 1970s and has been performing and recording its original music ever since. Their recently finished CD, "Disrupting the Country", tops more than 10 recordings and through the years they have shared the stage with performers including Charlie Daniels, Eric Clapton, Loggins & Messina, The Guess Who, Fleetwood Mac, Little Feat, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, just to name a few.

What is it that has kept Heartsfield going for so long in a business where some bands come and go like the wind?

"We've always been fortunate enough to create good enough music to give us a great fan base," said Perry Jordan, front man and main songwriter for the band. "That and our dogged determinedness."

"The music industry is a mean mistress," Jordan said. "If you are going to sustain yourself, you have to talk to each other and be determined to work through any crises together. Our band's motto is 'You never fail until you quit trying'."

Vagabond earthling

Jordan, who cofounded the band with J.C. Heartsfield, is a big part of the group's longevity. Born in Georgia and having lived much of his adult life in the Midwest, he brings a mix of styles to the band, inspired by his life-long exposure to a variety of cultures and sounds.

After leaving Georgia with his family at age seven, Jordan says he spent the rest of his growing-up years "banging around the world." It was while living in Germany for five years that he started to play music seriously.

"I'm a vagabond earthling," he said during a recent phone interview. "In Germany, I was exposed to a lot of European stuff, and my family instilled the southern influence in me."

All of that and more contributes to the songwriter's definition of rock and roll, which he sees as a compilation of many styles of music.

"One of my problems as a songwriter is that I don't like to write in just one style," he said. "The industry, though, is not very comfortable with that."

While musical variation is not always appreciated in today's niche-market world of commerce, it is something that Jordan says he not only enjoys as a writer, but feels is important in keeping a global view of the world around us.

"That's one thing that traveling does - it made me appreciate thinking on a planetary level," he said.

The idea that being from the south side of Chicago means that you have to hate the Cubs, for example, is something he doesn't feel is right.

"With those kind of views, your world can get very small, very quickly," he said. "Traveling taught me not to think that way. And that helps my song writing a lot."

Making connections

Jordan's inclusive nature extends to animals as well. A self-described "dog nut" and a rescuer of canines in need, he has a "Hall of Dogs" page on the Heartsfield web site where he shares photos of his pooches and invites visitors to post theirs as well.

Sharing such personal passions with fans is something that Jordan feels helps the band to establish common ground with those listening to their music.

"It makes us more like friends ‑ not just performers and audience," he said. "Heartsfield has always been a band whose philosophy is that everyone at the show is as important as the band. We are just the band at a great big party and we want everyone there to feel like they are a part of the experience."

In addition to Jordan, Heartsfield today includes Dave Nelson and Andon Davis on guitar, Steve Eddington on bass and Scott Bonshire on drums. Their show in Racine will be the final installment in the Downtown Racine Corp.'s Summer Nights at the Square concert series for 2008.

In its second year, Summer Nights at the Square features free outdoor concerts on the second Saturday evenings of each month during June, July, August and September at Monument Square. Refreshments are offered for sale and guests are invited to bring their lawn chairs. This season's previous Summer Nights concerts were performed by the Dave Fitzpatrick Band, Natty Nation and the Kal Bergendahl Project.

The concerts are made possible by a grant from the Osborne and Scekic Family Foundation - given specifically for outdoor concerts - as well as sponsorship from WRJN, Lite Rock 92.1 and The Journal Times.

The idea behind the shows is to encourage people to visit Downtown on a Saturday night and experience a variety of live music while enjoying the summer weather, according to Jean Garbo of the DRC.

Each of this year's shows have drawn about a couple thousand audience members, Garbo said. The DRC is hoping to be able to offer the series again in 2009.

If You Go

WHAT:

Heartsfield performs the season's final Summer Nights at the Square concert.

7 to 9 p.m. Saturday

WHEN:

Downtown's Monument Square

WHERE:

Free

COST:

For more about Heartsfield, go to http://www.heartsfield.com

INFO:

For more about Summer Nights at the Square, go to

http://www.racinedowntown.com