Darius Rucker with special guest Justin Moore and Thompson Square
Friday, November 11, 2011

LeAnn Rimes Christmas & Hits
Wednesday, December 7, 2011

REO Speedwagon -
Saturday, January 14, 2012

Rock of Ages -
Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Patti LaBelle -
Friday, April 13, 2012

*All shows will begin at 7:30. Times and dates may change

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Soul diva Patti LaBelle enjoyed one of the longest-lived careers in contemporary music, notching hits in a variety of sounds ranging from girl group pop to space-age funk to lush ballads. Born Patricia Holt in Philadelphia on May 24, 1944, she grew up singing in a local Baptist choir, and in 1960 teamed with friend Cindy Birdsong to form a group called the Ordettes. A year later, following the additions of vocalists Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash, the group was rechristened the Blue Belles; with producer Bobby Martin at helm, they scored a Top 20 pop and R&B hit in 1962 with the single “I Sold My Heart to the Junkman,” subsequently hitting the charts in 1964 with renditions of “Danny Boy” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

In 1965, the quartet — now known as Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles — signed to Atlantic, where they earned a minor hit with their version of the standard “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” The group’s Atlantic tenure was largely disappointing, however, and in 1967 Birdsong replaced Florence Ballard in the Supremes. The remaining trio toured the so-called “chitlin circuit” for the remainder of the decade before signing on with British manager Vicki Wickham in 1970; Wickham renamed the group simply LaBelle and pushed their music in a funkier, rock-oriented direction, and in the wake of their self-titled 1971 Warner Bros. debut they even toured with the Who. (The trio also collaborated with Laura Nyro on her superb R&B-influenced album Gonna Take a Miracle.)

By 1973, LaBelle had gone glam, taking the stage in wildly theatrical, futuristic costumes; a year later they became the first African-American act ever to appear at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House, a landmark performance that also introduced their lone chart-topping single, the Allen Toussaint-produced classic “Lady Marmalade.” However, after two more albums — 1975′s Phoenix and the following year’s Chameleon — LaBelle disbanded, and its namesake mounted a solo career, issuing her eponymous debut in 1977. In addition to subsequent releases including 1979′s It’s Alright with Me and 1980′s Released, LaBelle also turned to acting, co-starring in a 1982 Broadway revival of Your Arms to Short to Box with God.

Upon signing with the Philadephia International label, LaBelle scored a number one R&B hit with “If You Only Knew,” from 1983′s I’m in Love Again. Two years later, she reached the pop Top 20 with her Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack contribution “New Attitude.” Her subsequent MCA debut, 1986′s The Winner in You, went platinum on the strength of the Burt Bacharach-penned “On My Own,” a duet with Michael McDonald, while the follow-up, 1989′s Be Yourself, featured a pair of cuts written by Prince. Released in 1991, Burnin’ earned a Grammy for Best Female R&B Performance. LaBelle recorded less and less frequently in the years to follow, in 1995 publishing her autobiography, -Don’t Block the Blessings: Revelations of a Lifetime. She returned five years later to release When a Woman Loves and then signed to Def Soul for 2004′s Timeless Journey and 2005′s all-covers Classic Moments. In 2007 the holiday album Miss Patti’s Christmas appeared, while 2008 saw the release of Live in Washington D.C., a live album recorded in 1982. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Sure, you can call the members of REO Speedwagon rock stars. But if you have to label them, here’s the more accurate term they prefer: Working musicians.

Formed in 1967, signed in 1971 and fronted by iconic vocalist Kevin Cronin since 1972, REO Speedwagon has – for decades – been a confounding blend of consistency and change.

They rode in station wagons, going from tiny gigs to even tinier gigs, just to get the REO name out in the early days. Later they rode the top of the charts with a RIAA certified 22 million albums sold in the U.S. and 40 million around the globe, with a string of gold and platinum records and international hit singles. The 9-times certified Hi Infidelity remains a high-water mark for rock bands.

Make all the “Ridin’ The Storm Out” or “Roll With The Changes” cracks you want, but that’s exactly what the band has done. REO Speedwagon has that Midwest work ethic.

The band has gone onstage and in the studio and done the work, year after year – dozens of albums, hundreds (or thousands?) of concerts, infinite radio spins. The eyes have always been on the future and on the road – not a year has gone by where REO Speedwagon didn’t perform live, thrilling fans with hits like “Keep On Loving You” and “Can’t Fight This Feeling.”

And yes, they do roll with the changes. With the modern-day music industry disintegrating, the band members recorded Find Your Own Way Home in 2007 and put it out themselves through Walmart – and personally drove to radio stations across the country to get it heard. Ultimately the album (yes, REO Speedwagon still makes albums, not a bunch of songs) had more success than it would ever see with a record company. Whatever the band members need to do to connect with fans, they do it.

“We’re still doing it and still going strong,” Cronin says.

Cronin (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards) has always cast an eye to the future, along with band-mates Bruce Hall (bass), Neal Doughty (keyboards), Dave Amato (lead guitar) and Bryan Hitt (drums). It wasn’t a surprise to Cronin to see the industry run aground.

“I think maybe the music industry needed to fall a little bit because it was getting bloated and there were just too many people putting out CDs with one or two good songs on them and eventually that’s gonna backfire,” Cronin says.

What never backfires is a great live show. In 2009 REO Speedwagon hits the road on the Can’t Stop Rockin’ Tour with STYX and 38 Special, three of the hardest working bands in America. Sponsored by VH1 and Rock Band, the tour is a recession-buster night of rock ‘n’ roll, offering the best value this year, with some tickets as low as $13.50.

What do people want to hear these days? Hope. Passion. A reason to do the things we do. And songwriter Cronin is a longtime fan of hope.

“I am an optimistic person,” Cronin says. “In every song I have ever written, no matter the depth of darkness from which it was conceived, there has always been a message of hope. My own songs often serve to remind me that in the toughest of times, hope must remain undying.”

To that end REO and STYX have teamed up on a new single, “Can’t Stop Rockin’,” co-written by Cronin and STYX’s Tommy Shaw.

When the talk turns to benefit concerts the names that come to mind are George Harrison, U2 and Bob Geldof. REO has quietly done its share, sans self-serving promotional tours, from appearing at the Live Aid concert in 1985, to a benefit for port authority workers after 9/11 and recent MusiCares shows, along with a “Ridin’ The Storm Out” benefit concert that raised more than a half-million dollars for Iowa flood relief in 2008.

In what little downtime he has, Cronin stays busy with appearances on shows like Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher and his own writing on his blog at KevinCronin.com. He recently appeared on FOX-TV’s Don’t Forget the Lyrics!

It’s a busy life, but it always has been for the band. Formed loosely in the late ’60s at college in Champaign, IL, REO (famously named after a fire engine) and its fans quickly realized there was much more going on here than your average frat-party band.

By the early ’70s the band’s unrelenting drive, non-stop touring and recording jump-started the burgeoning rock movement in the Midwest. It carved a path eventually followed by STYX, Kansas, Cheap Trick and more. Platinum albums and freeform FM radio staples such as “Ridin’ The Storm Out” followed, setting the stage for 1980′s explosive Hi Infidelity.

The band’s younger fans might not realize the sheer impact Hi Infidelity had on music and the culture of rock ‘n’ roll. Its 9 million in sales was fueled by huge hit singles in “Keep On Loving You” and “Take It On the Run.” High Infidelity spent months in the #1 slot, a feat simply unattainable in music today. The strong run continued with hits like “Can’t Fight This Feeling” up through the new “Can’t Stop Rockin’.”

Today it’s all about what it has always been – taking good care of the band’s legacy while keeping the focus on the future. That may be even more important these days, Cronin believes.

“The world is going through a weird phase, and everybody needs music now more than ever. We all need to join our friends, pool our resources, combine our energies, because there is power in people coming together,” he says.

In 1987 on the Sunset Strip, a small town girl met a big city rocker and in LA’s most famous rock club, they fell in love to the greatest songs of the 80s. It’s ROCK OF AGES, an arena-rock love story told through the mind-blowing, face-melting hits of JOURNEY, NIGHT RANGER, STYX, REO SPEEDWAGON, PAT BENATAR, TWISTED SISTER, POISON, ASIA, WHITESNAKE and many more. Don’t miss this awesomely good time about dreaming big, playing loud and partying on!

LeAnn Rimes has sold more than 37 million albums, won two Grammy® Awards, three Academy of Country Music Awards and 12 Billboard Music Awards. Rimes is the youngest recipient of a Grammy® Award, and was also the first country recording artist to win in the “Best New Artist” category. Rimes has placed 42 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, 13 of which are top-10 hits, and has scored numerous hit singles in her career, including “Can’t Fight the Moonlight” which went #1 in 11 countries, and “How Do I Live,” which is the second longest charting song ever on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Rimes is as an accomplished actress and author, including writing two children’s books Jag and Jag’s New Friend, as well as the novel, Holiday in Your Heart and the inspirational book What I Cannot Change.

LeAnn has long-supported a variety of charity organizations including advocating for the National Psoriasis Foundation, The Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes and Children’s Miracle Network.

LeAnn recently released two songs from her forthcoming album, Lady & Gentlemen, where she reinterprets classic country songs by men, including the Grammy® nominated song “Swingin’” and the original new song, “Crazy Women.”

Darius Rucker is riding high with the release of his sophomore country album, Charleston, SC 1966, on Capitol Records Nashville. USA Today raved, “Rucker has made a fine-sounding country album, full of singable choruses, bittersweet fiddle and steel, and guitars with bottomless twang,” and Rolling Stone said, “On his Nashville debut, Rucker’s rich baritone, sentimental ballads and bright hooks made him the most successful African-American country singer since Charley Pride. Rucker amps up that formula on album number two.”

The debut in referral is his chart-topping 2008 release, Learn To Live – an album that produced three consecutive No. 1 singles and Top 5 smash, “History In The Making,” Rucker’s success in the country music format was recently recognized at the 43rd Annual CMA Awards when he received the Top New Artist title and again with ACM, Teen Choice, and AMA Award nominations. Charleston, SC 1966–a title which pays tribute to one of Rucker’s biggest influences, Radney Foster–includes the multiple-week #1 hit single, “Come Back Song,” and his current Top 10 single, “This.”