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If a kaleidoscope were made for the ears, it may sound like a mingling of several different songs, musical genres and influences.

It may, in fact, sound like the Kaleidoscope Band.

The band, which plays a diverse selection of rock and roll from the Œ70s, Œ80s and Œ90s, will close out the Shelby Township Summer Concert Series on July 23 with a free concert at the Shelby Township Municipal Band Shell. Lead singer and founder Jim Young said there will be something for people of every musical taste.

“We’ve played everywhere, every city, lots of county fairs, and people really have a great time,” he said. “We have a guy in the band who just joined us and he sings just like Barry White or Lou Rawls. People are so surprised because he’s this skinny, 23-year-old kid and yet when he opens his mouth, he sounds just like Barry White. People come up to me afterwards and they think he’s been lip-synching because it sounds so much like Barry White.”

The band has been around for 25 years, and has toured the world with its renditions of disco, rock and roll, blues and other favorite hits. Popular female singers the Lynn Sisters, Hannah and Lauren, steal the show with their renditions of female hits, and Detroiters tend to enjoy the Motown numbers.

Young, who founded the band, said he is drawn to all of the genres Kaleidoscope covers because his first love is for music - no matter what the type.

“That was just the way it was in my family. I was born into a musical household, and always loved to sing and loved to perform,” he said. “I had the love for music and recording, and I just decided to get a band together.”

Young said people enjoy the nostalgic appeal of hearing their favorite songs played live once again, and the opportunity to sing and dance to the music that shaped their lives.

“It really think that at the time, there was something different about the music,” Young said. “We don’t play hard rock and roll. This was something different; it was music you could feel, you could sing a long to. It made people happy.”

Nowhere is that more apparent, Young said, then in the Œ70s set, in which the crowd is urged to get up and boogie.

“They love the Œ70s and the disco music when we play it,” Young said. “I love that part, too. The crowd participation is amazing, when you can get the crowd going and dancing and getting involved.”

Young said he enjoys “mixing it up” and surprising the crowd with a diverse array of pop favorites, forgotten treasures and dance hits. His favorite, however, is the band’s arrangement of “This Will Be” by native Detroiter Aretha Franklin.

“Just the harmony in it and the way it moves is great,” he said. “I also like the Earth, Wind and Fire one that we do where they get up and dance. The energy is just great.”

Kaleidoscope Band will perform at the Shelby Township Municipal Band Shell on July 23 at 7:30 p.m. The concert is free and attendees are encouraged to bring blankets or chairs to sit on. For more information, call the Shelby Township Parks and Recreation Department at 731-0300.