Huey Lewis & The News, Blondie, Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson to Headline
ROANOKE, VA — FloydFest and Across-the-Way Productions are going back to the future this April, May and August with their ‘Totally Rad Roanoke~Star City Concert Series,’ bringing three icons of rock and roll history to Elmwood Park Amphitheater: Huey Lewis & The News (April 20), Blondie (May 12) and Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys’ 50th Anniversary of the album ‘Pet Sounds.’ (August 20).
The announcement dovetails with the launch of the new www.atwproductions.com, which details the Floyd, Va.-based company’s roster of new and returning events for 2016 — including the reincarnation of Floyd Fandango on June 25 at the FloydFest site, and myriad shows at The Phoenix in downtown Roanoke — as well as links for tickets. Tickets for Huey Lewis & The News — which will feature 80s-inspired bluegrass super-group Love Canon as opener — go on sale March 1; tickets for Blondie and Brian Wilson go on sale April 1.
Advance online tickets are available at www.atwproductions.com, and walk-up tickets are available at The Berglund Center Box Office, located at 710 Williamson Road in Roanoke, Va., and open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.
“Growing up in Roanoke it’s always been a dream of mine to present the best artists that remind me of my first dates, driving my first car and hanging out with friends at the Mill Mountain Star,” FloydFest Co-Founder and CEO Kris Hodges said. “These three artists represent just that and more.”
Boasting a baker’s dozen of Top 10 Singles and entering their 37th year together, Huey Lewis & The News are truly one of America’s greatest rock and roll bands. Their contagious brand of music has outlasted countless trends, and is as fresh today as ever. These Grammy Award winners have written and performed such classic Top Ten Hits as “Heart of Rock & Roll,” “I Want A New Drug,” “If This Is It,” “Hip To Be Square,” “Do You Believe In Love,” and “Workin’ For A Livin.” The group also wrote and performed “The Power of Love” and “Back in Time” for the hit film ‘Back to the Future.’ “The Power of Love,” nominated for an Academy Award, went to No. 1 on Billboard’s singles chart, and was a smash hit worldwide.
Special guest Love Canon, who “doesn’t cover the music of the ‘80s as much as kidnaps it and takes it on a bluegrass-tinged joyride,” will join Huey Lewis & The News. Get ready to go back to the future, folks.
For the last four decades, Blondie has become — and remains — a true national treasure; a punk band from New York City whose influence both shaped and continues to inform the worlds of music, fashion and art. Debbie Harry and Chris Stein have kept their ears to the ground, creating trends, never following them. They helped push punk onto the dance floor at the dawn of the new wave era and introduced a wider audience to hip-hop sounds, all the while building a catalog of enduring pop hits along the way.
Brian Wilson is one of popular music’s most deeply revered figures, the main creative force behind some of the most cherished recordings in rock history. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to call Wilson one of the most influential composers of the last century. He was barely out of his teens when he began to create some of the most beloved records ever — nine consecutive “gold” albums that featured such classics as “Surfer Girl,” “In My Room,” “I Get Around,” “Don’t Worry Baby,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” “Help Me Rhonda” and “California Girls”… just to name a handful of the more than two dozen Top 40 hits Wilson co-wrote, arranged, produced and performed with his family band, the Beach Boys. Wilson is coming to Roanoke to perform ‘Pet Sounds,’ the emotional autobiography of its 23-year old “auteur,” which is considered by many to be one of the greatest albums ever made. In the process of bringing it to life, its composer, arranger and producer (Wilson) rewrote all the rules of what a record could be; as one observer noted, its release was “Independence Day” for rock and roll.
“Our FloydFest patron survey results speak to a critical-mass of music-loving Roanokers who we believe will love the ‘FloydFest vibe’ being transplanted to their lovely backyard amphitheater through the series of concerts we have planned,” FloydFest Co-Founder Erika Johnson said. “All three shows feature icons of rock and roll, and the 80s theme ties them all together in a way that we plan to have a lot of fun with, including costume contests.”
Tickets (on sale March 1; show April 20) for Huey Lewis & The News with special guest Love Canon and for Blondie (on sale April 1; show May 12) cost $35 in advance and $45 at the door for general admission; $15 in advance and $20 at the door for kids (age 7 to 12); free for kids age 6 and under; and $600 for a VIP Box, which seats six and includes light snacks. For both shows, gates open at 6 p.m., and the shows begin at 7 p.m.
Tickets (on sale April 1; show August 20) for Brian Wilson’s 50th Anniversary of ‘Pet Sounds’ cost $45 in advance and $55 at the door for general admission; $15 in advance and $20 at the door for kids (age 7 to 12); free for kids age 6 and under; and $700 for a VIP Box, which seats six and includes light snacks. Gates open at 6 p.m., and the show begins at 7:30 p.m.
The City of Roanoke’s Elmwood Park Amphitheater is Southwest Virginia’s premier concert and festival venue, and is located at 706 S. Jefferson Street in downtown Roanoke, Va.
Fans of FloydFest’s annual On-the-Rise Competition will welcome being a part of the selection process during the eight-week roster of shows in April and May at The Phoenix, a music and arts venue located at 813 5th Street SW in downtown Roanoke, Va. Two bands will face off each Saturday night, April through May, with the audience choosing the winner and future FloydFest 16 OtR competitor at the end of each night. At each of the shows, attending FloydFest Alumni receive a special gift at the door.
Reimagining and reincarnating a cult classic, FloydFest and AtWP bring back Floyd Fandango Showdown Throwdown on June 25 at the FloydFest site. A celebration of beer, cider, wine, food, music and outdoor adventure, Floyd Fandango delivers an ‘old-school’ festival vibe for its regional tribe. In addition to beer, cider and wine tastings, the festival features a farm-to-table meal, free camping, and outdoor competitions, such as a Mountain X Cross Bike Race, Disc Golf Tournament and 5K Trail Race.
FloydFest 16~Dreamweavin’ takes place July 27 to 31, featuring outdoor adventure, vibrant and varied vendors, quality brews and chews, healing arts, children’s activities and a lineup featuring more than 100 artists on nine stages, including Gregg Allman, Warren Haynes’ Ashes & Dust, Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers, Leftover Salmon, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Railroad Earth, Nahko and Medicine for the People, Keller Williams, Femi Kuti & Positive Force, Shakey Graves, The Wood Brothers, Greensky Bluegrass, Elephant Revival, Anders Osborne, Pimps of Joytime, Rich Robinson and many more.
For more information, visit www.atwproductions.com or www.floydfest.com, email info@atwproductions.com or call (888) VA-FESTS.
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