Onstage at the Cherry Festival

June 29, 2005

There’s never been much suspense involved in predicting the Open Space concerts by the bay at the National Cherry Festival: you can always count on a smattering of classic rockers or oldies, a country act, and the Beatles tribute (which has been a fixture of the Cherry Festival longer than The Beatles themselves existed as a band).
But over the past two years, festival organizers have improved the quality of the rock dinosaurs, most notably this year with Little Feat and an encore performance by Santana vocalist Greg Rolie who wowwed the crowd in ‘04.
All of the shows start at dusk at the Open Space and a $3 commemorative pin gets you into the concert area all week long. Here’s what to expect at this year’s festival:

Little Feat the Band
Saturday, July 2
A band whose music spans three decades with roots in the ’60s to boot, Little Feat features eight musical virtuosos who blend pop, jazz, folk, blues, rock and you name it. Their songs have been hits for dozens of artists. See Rick Coates’ article on page 24 for a closer look.


Three Men and a Tenor
Sunday, July 3
Former members of the Michigan State University Glee Club, this a capella quartet began performing in 1995, singing pop, rock, country, reggae, rap, Christian, and even an occasional commercial jingle. Check out their original tunes enlivened with a comic touch. Three Men and a Tenor will provide the sounds for The Festival Wine Tasting event sponsored by Chateau Grand Traverse.

Encore Society
Monday, July 4
Local amateur orchestral musicians will be tooting their horns and showing some brass in celebration of the 4th with a performance of patriotic music.

Dierks Bentley
Tuesday, July 5
Dierks Bentley moved to Nashville at age 19 and immersed himself in the local music scene, playing open mics and bar gigs. Bentley adds a shot of bluegrass to his country hits for a down-home feel. Hits include “What Was I Thinking,” “How Am I doin’,” and “Forget About You.”
Warming up the show will be local teen sensation Chelsee Oaks, who’s been performing country pop on regional stages since the age of 11. This fall, Chelsee, 17, is Nashville-bound in search of her star, following up on the “A Life Less Ordinary” CD she released last year.

1964 The Tribute
Wednesday, July 6
Dubbed “the best Beatles Tribute Show on earth” by Rolling Stone Magazine, 1964: The Tribute always turns out the biggest crowd at the Cherry Festival. Wearing the original Beatles suits, boots and haircuts, the Fab Foursome even generate some screams from fans for their covers of the band’s early years.
The band comes to TC on the heels of performances in Liverpool, England where 35,000 people turned out to watch them in front of the QE2 at this year’s BeatleFest. 1964: The Tribute broke records last year with a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Boulder on August 26, 2004, exactly 40 years after The Beatles themselves brought the British Invasion to Colorado by performing on the same concert stage.

Eddie Money • Thursday, July 7
He’s got “Two Tickets To Paradise” whenever he pleads “Baby Hold On To Me.” Best noted for his husky vocals, Eddie Money is also an accomplished musician who writes his own songs and plays the saxophone, harmonica and piano.
This year, Money celebrates his 27th anniversary in the music business. He has recorded over a dozen albums and has done numerous projects in television and film. Money has penned several theme songs for Major League Baseball, and has been seen in recent years on “The Drew Carey Show” and in the film “Joe Dirt.”


John Waite • Friday, July 8
John Waite has hit the adult/contemporary charts multiple times throughout his
three-decade career, beginning with the English band, The Babys, whose hey-day was 1975-’80.
Best known for his hit, “Missing You,” which is in constant rotation on soft rock radio, Waite is promoting his latest CD, “The Hard Way,” which includes his newest single “New York City Girl.”

Gregg Rolie Band • Saturday, July 9
Keyboardist and vocalist Gregg Rolie formed Santana with Carlos way back in the ‘60s and is the voice behind many of the group’s top hits. Last year, his band thrilled the crowd with spot-on renditions of Santana’s greatest his. Expect plenty of conga percussion as the backbeat for this band, whose performance leads up to the fireworks that close out the Cherry Festival.