A mighty dose of 1990s music is headed for Hammond’s Festival of the Lakes.
At 8 p.m. July 18, Color Me Badd is scheduled to hit the pavilion stage at Wolf Lake Memorial Park.
In 1991, the Oklahomans released the chart-topping single “All 4 Love,” and would score several more Top 25 hits on Billboard’s pop chart in the 1990s.
Running July 18-22, Festival of the Lakes also features Sublime with Rome at 9 p.m. July 20. Known as a ska-rock band, their song “Take It Or Leave It” has received more than seven million YouTube views, while “Wherever You Go” has exceeded two million views.
Color Me Badd knows something about having material receive mass exposure.
“I Wanna Sex You Up” proved to be the group’s breakout single that launched its success story 27 years ago.
“It was very unexpected,” original Color Me Badd member Mark Calderon said in a recent phone interview.
Calderon recalled when the song was in an early demo phase.
“It was one of those songs that we always had in our back pocket — that we would play for people, just to see if they liked it, because it was going to be our first single,” he said.
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It was slow going for the spicy tune before it made its way to 1991’s “New Jack City,” starring Wesley Snipes and Ice-T.
“I have to say no one really liked the song until it actually came out in the movie,” noted the 47-year-old singer.
The steamy, suggestive lyrics raised some eyebrows in the early ’90s.
“I just didn’t know how to explain to my grandmother our first song is going to be called ‘I Wanna Sex You Up,’” Calderon said with a laugh.
Calderon and company quickly followed that chart success with the slow-and-sultry “I Adore Mi Amor,” which gave the four-member group its first No. 1 single in America.
“‘I Adore Mi Amor’ was a song that we had wrote back in the day before we ever got a record deal,” Calderon, a Cincinnati resident, said.
All the members of Color Me Badd wrote the song, with the help of friend and producer Hamza Lee.
In 2018, Color Me Badd has Calderon and Bryan Abrams as original members.
Fresh music is on the duo’s radar.
“We’re always trying to put out new stuff,” Calderon said. “We’re pretty happy with the future.”
Also steering toward a bright horizon is Sublime with Rome, which has a new album that is targeted for an approximate spring 2019 release.
A single, “Wicked Heart,” is set for a late July release, with distribution provided by a branch of Sony Music Entertainment.
Those who catch Sublime with Rome on the Friday of the Hammond festival’s run will be witnessing a band that revels in creative exploration.
“Generally, we kind of try and keep it as experimental, within the boundaries of what the band is kind of known for,” lead singer Rome Ramirez said.
“Those are, like, the three elements that we really try to explore on every album; we take on a different dimension of those genres,” Ramirez, a 30-year-old guitarist, said. “There’s definitely songs that kind of venture off into the ska territory, and then some will be a little bit harder and go off towards, like, more punk.”
Based in Southern California, Sublime with Rome also features Carlos Verdugo and Eric Wilson, an original member of Sublime when the band notched a modern-rock smash in 1996 called “What I Got.”
More recently, the 2015 album “Sirens” gave Sublime with Rome a hit on several Billboard charts, including those in the alternative and digital categories.
Ramirez and company will be joining a bevy of other big-name talent along the shores of Wolf Lake for the festival’s lineup of free concerts.
The Pavilion at Wolf Lake Memorial Park also will welcome Grandmaster Flash as the headliner on July 18, with Tone Loc set for 7 p.m., according to the festival’s website.
Chevelle, which enjoyed a huge hit with the 2014 album “La Gargola ,” heads the entertainment on July 19, with Lights Over Bridgeport and Zombie Schoolboy also on the bill.
Sublime with Rome, on July 20, will have Bonfire, and Dick Diamond and the Dusters, as opening acts.
July 21 brings headliner Nas, who notched a hit album with 1994’s “Illmatic.”
The opening acts will be Twista and K’La (“All Your Love”).
Banda Carnaval headlines on July 22. Other acts on the bill are Banda Nueva Raza, Magia Negra, Grupo Dos Banderas and Mariachi Perla de Mexico.
Headliner acts begin performances around 9 p.m., with opening acts starting at 7 p.m., except for July 22 when the headliner goes on about 8:30 p.m., with the opening acts beginning their performances at 3 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Hammond Marina along Lake Michigan hosts a free Polka Party featuring Tri-City Drive from 2 to 6 p.m. July 22 as part of Festival of the Lakes.
The festival’s other events include a July 20 Golf Scramble at Lost Marsh Golf Course near George Lake, and a July 22 hot rod and custom car show at Wolf Lake Memorial Park.
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The festival will have a carnival at the park which opens at 5 p.m. July 18-20 and noon July 21-22, plus fireworks on July 20-21.
Festival of the Lakes
When: July 18-22
Where: Wolf Lake Memorial Park, 2324 Calumet Ave., Hammond
Admission: Free; single-day parking $25
Information: 219-853-6378, www.festivalofthelakes.com