SEBASTIAN — The band Chemistry, known as the Ultimate 80’s Music Experience, will deliver a dose of 1980s nostalgia at Riverview Park on July 4, performing from 5 p.m. until the fireworks begin as part of the City of Sebastian’s 2026 Annual Sebastian Freedom Festival.
The longtime local celebration also includes a parade at 8:30 a.m. and a full day of events, with food, beverages and family activities available throughout. Fireworks are set for 9 p.m.
Chemistry specializes in high-energy covers from the decade. The group’s four members bring a combined wealth of performance and production experience to the stage.
Lead singer Ronnie Wildermut started singing at age 9, teaching herself before studying opera and classical music from 15 to 21. She has recorded and produced her own music and fronted cover bands, a wedding and all-occasion group, and a traveling cabaret show. She also works as a voiceover artist.
Her husband, Jeff Wildermuth, plays acoustic and electric guitars, bass, keyboards, background vocals. Music has been part of his life since age 5, when harmonies from Beach Boys and Beatles records caught his ear. He began playing guitar in the mid-1980s, later moving into synthesizers and studio work, where he met Ronnie. He has produced dozens of bands and done live sound for many others.
Bassist Mike Lettera picked up the instrument at age 7 and got early experience roadieing for his brother’s bands. He has played professionally for more than a decade across Florida and Long Island in pop, modern and classic rock, Top 40 and country.
Evan Jacobson handles acoustic and electronic drums plus percussion. His interest in music dates to the 1970s, and he has performed with several bands in Indian River County. In 1995 he wrote and published a master’s thesis exploring how new technologies could expand a drummer’s expression, incorporating piezoelectric triggers and MIDI.
The evening set at Riverview Park gives residents a chance to enjoy familiar 80s tracks in a community setting before the holiday fireworks display caps off the day.