Cary, NC (Top40 Charts/ Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame And Museum) - Organizers of the 2nd Annual Benefit Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum scheduled for
September 6, 2009 at the Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, N.C. today announced that 2009 Rock Hall Inductees
Little Anthony and the Imperials (LAI) along with pop and R&B star Deneice Williams will make a special afternoon appearance at the Labor Day weekend music festival, performing a song each with Minneapolis all-star band 94 East, whose founder Pepe Willie is the nephew of
Little Anthony and the Imperials founding member Clarence Collins.
As announced earlier this week. 94 East - the band often credited with evolving the Minneapolis Sound - will perform its set with former members of Prince's famed bands The Revolution and Grand Central in a musical tribute to the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee.
Little Anthony and the Imperials, or LAI as they are known by generations of R&B fans, recently celebrated their 50th anniversary and their string of hits, including 'Tears on My Pillow,' 'Goin Out of My Head,' and 'Hurt So Bad' are known to almost anyone who understands the progression of R&B and rock and roll. Also making a guest appearance will be four-time Grammy Award winning Deniece 'Niecy' Williams, whose hits include 'Lets Hear It for the Boy' and 'It's Gonna Take a Miracle,' among countless others.
LAI and Deniece Williams will be performing a full concert the evening of September 6th at the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) as part of Rock Hall Weekend in the Triangle, which also includes a concert by iconic rockers Heart, who will perform at Booth Amphitheatre on Friday, September 4th. A ticket package that includes seats to both the Heart and 2nd Annual Rock Hall Benefit Concert will be available soon and tickets to all three Rock Hall weekend concerts are also available individually on-line, at the respective venue box offices, and at all Ticketmaster outlets.
RH Productions, which produces the annual Rock Hall Benefit Concert, and Carolina Entertainment Group, which is handling the LAI/Deneice Williams tour through North and South Carolina, also announced that original members of 2002 Vocal Group Hall of Fame Inductees The Chantels - who also made the final ballot for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inclusion in 2001 - will also make a stage appearance at the Rock Hall Benefit Concert, and that members of 94 East will stop by the DPAC later that night to perform several songs with LAI as the Rock Hall shines a spotlight on the many diverse musical genres and eras that comprised the foundation of today's rock and roll.
Music fans who get to the Rock Hall Benefit concert early on September 6th will also have the rare opportunity to participate in a meet-and-greet with members of LAI, Ms. Williams and The Chantels.
The announcement of a 94 East's all-star configuration, which includes famed The Revolution keyboardist Doctor Fink and Grand Central founder and drummer Charles 'Chazz' Smith, and now peppered with numerous special guests, follows an announcement last week of another all-star band that is sure to excite fans of Queen, Yes and Journey. This year's version of the White Sox All-Star Band includes:
�Legendary Yes and Plastic Ono Band (John Lennon) drummer Alan White;
�Queen keyboardist and vocalist Spike Edney;
�Fellow Queen + Paul Rodgers guitarist and backing vocalist Jamie Moses;
�Former Journey lead singer and current Trans-Siberian Orchestra vocalist Jeff Scott Soto;
�Superstar guitarist and Jimi Hendrix emulator Randy Hansen;
�World-renowned electric rock violinist Geoffrey Castle; and
�Progressive rock bass guitarist and White Sox co-founder Bernt Bodal.
The superstar line-up is planning a 90-minute set of rock classics that is sure to bring the house down, as last year's version of the White-Sox did on the Opening Night of the two-day classic rock festival.
Other artists scheduled to perform include:
�2009 Rock Hall Inductee Darryl McDaniels, best known as D.M.C. from the groundbreaking hip-hop group Run-D.M.C.;
�Legendary female rocker Patty Smyth and her 1980s hit making band Scandal;
�Alternative rockers Blessid Union of Souls, whose hits include 'Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me for Me) and 'I Believe;'
�Long Island, NY rockers Nine Days, whose breakout hits 'Absolutely (Story of A Girl) and 'If I Am' vaulted the band to stardom earlier this decade;
�Midwestern roots favorite the Freddy Jones Band, whose recently released CD 'Time Well Wasted' has spawned numerous hits on college radio including the fast-rising singles 'Home Thing' and 'In a Daydream;'
�Two Southern rock standard bearers with nearly a dozen Top 40 hits between them - the Atlanta Rhythm Section and the Georgia Satellites.
Tickets for the benefit concert are available at all Ticketmaster outlets and the Booth Amphitheatre box office. A limited number of reserved seats are available for $100 and include select artist meet-and-greets, with remaining reserved seats priced at $65 and lawn seats priced at $35. There will are a limited number of four packs consisting of four lawn seats for $96 while supplies last. Kids 12 and under will be admitted to the lawn free of charge. Music fans can visit www.rockhallbenefit.com for more information.
The 2nd Annual Benefit Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is presented by the Town of Cary. Other charter sponsors include Chicago-based record label Out the Box Records, Raleigh-based French/West/Vaughan, United Way of the Greater Triangle, SunTrust, Harris Wholesale, Inc., Johnson Brothers Carolina Distributors, and One Hope Wines. Official media partners include Sports Talk radio stations 850 The Buzz and 620 The Bull, Curtis Media, NBC-17, The Raleigh Downtowner and Skirt Magazine.
