The big band sound returns to Vicksburg this summer when the Vicksburg Convention Center brings Ritz on the River back to the city by popular demand July 16.

“Everyone wanted it back,” Annette Kirklin, the director of the convention center said. “It was great fun. The dance floor was full the entire night, and we had a diverse crowd of older people, young people and groups. It was a dress-up event, and we have very few of those.

“It really involves three things — it’s a community event, we use it as a meeting planner event, and it’s a fundraiser; this year we’ll be raising funds for the Storehouse Community Food Pantry.”

Last year’s event featured the 18-piece Equinox Orchestra from Savannah, Ga., playing tunes primarily from the ’50s and early ’60s.

Music this year will be provided by the LA Legacy Jazz Orchestra of West Monroe, La., an 18-piece big band performing a diverse selection of traditional and more current music, Kirklin said.

The band recreates Hollywood big band, easy Latin, sophisticated jazz and popular standards, from artists such as Frank Sinatra or Michael Bublé, Elvis, the Beatles, Chicago, and Earth Wind and Fire. It features three guest vocalists, Bach Norwood, Naomi Holder and Adam Jones.

Dinner show tickets are $50 — advance purchase only — and general admission show tickets are $20 in advance, $25 the day of show, and $15 for students plus possible service charges.

A surf-and-turf dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m., and the show begins at 8.

Tickets go on sale April 6 and can be purchased at ticketmaster.com, by calling 1-800-745-3000, or at the Vicksburg Convention Center Box Office. Tables can be reserved for the dinner show only with group purchases of 10.

“We’re already beginning to get requests for sponsorships, and last year we sold out of tables very quickly,” Kirklin said.