You are going to have to add, like, the Totally Tubular Festival to your must-see list of summer tours this year.
All of you Val dudes won’t have to go to Van Nuys, California, to catch Thomas Dolby, like, headline the 17-date tour that also boasts Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey, Modern English, Men Without Hats, The Romantics, Bow Wow Wow, Tommy Tutone, and The Plimsouls. Nope, you can just drive up Interstate 75 to Meadow Brook Amphitheatre in Detroit or down that same interstate to Cincinnati’s Riverbend Music Center the following night to see this gnarly show.
“This is a dream lineup for those who love the music of the early 1980s and for those who want to relive the days when life was … plain and simply — a total party,” Totally Tubular Festival’s Jon Pleeter said in a statement.
Fair warning: There will be no “Safety Dance” in Detroit since Men Without Hats will not appear that night, but it will still be “tripendicular.”
Hawaiian tour visits mainland
Do you remember the actress Tia Carrere fronting the fictional rock back Crucial Tauntfrom Wayne’s World, while also starring in other late ’80s/early ’90s movies? Of course you do.
Well, Carrere apparently is quite a musician in addition to being an actress, and she has won two Grammy Awards for Hawaiian music albums.
You can catch her live show when she appears at Gary and Laura Maurer Concert Hall in Chicago on Feb. 29 alongside four-time Grammy winner George Kahumoku Jr. and six-time Grammy winner Daniel Ho as the Masters of Hawaiian Music tour rolls into town. The tour will also visit The Ark in Ann Arbor on March 2 and Music Box Supper Club in Cleveland on March 3.
During the performances, these accomplished musicians will share the unique Hawaiian styles of slack key guitar and ukulele through new and traditional songs of the genre.
Black rock festival Indy
The I Made Rock n’ Roll Festival is being billed as Indiana’s first one-day Black rock festival.
Slated for May 18 at the American Legion Mall in downtown Indianapolis, the festival will feature live performances by Janelle Monáe, Gary Clark Jr., Robert Randolph Band, Joy Oladokun, Meet Me @ The Altar, and Inner Peace.
The festival is significant, a press release said, because rock n’ roll was born from the rhythm and blues of the Black community. It will be a time to celebrate the origins of the genre and take in some great music.
Metal giants in our region
Swedish heavy metal icons Amon Amarth will return to the U.S. on the Metal Crushes All Tour 2024.
Commencing in mid-April, the trek also includes death metal legends Cannibal Corpse and Obituary, along with Frozen Soul.
You will need to set your GPS for GLC Live at 20 Monroe in Grand Rapids on May 5 or Rose Music Center near Dayton on May 6 if you want to take in this gathering of metal legends.
It will be well worth the trip as Amon Amarth are known for elaborate stage designs and visually stunning shows.
Bush joined by ’90s rockers
It appears ’90s rock is alive in well, and Bush is capitalizing with the 2024 tour alongside Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell and Candlebox.
Loaded: The Greatest Hits Tour hits Everwise Amphitheatre in Indianapolis on Aug. 4, Huntington Bank Pavilion in Chicago on Aug. 7, Jacobs Pavilion in Cleveland on Aug. 13, Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati on Aug. 14, and Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre outside Detroit on Aug. 16.
Road Notes covers concerts within driving distance of Northeast Indiana. Send your news items to info@whatzup.com.
