Ween frontman Gene Ween plays Billy Joel tribute at Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre on Aug. 5
From a press release:
Aaron “Gene Ween” Freeman, the frontman of New Hope, Pennsylvania alternative rock band Ween, will pay tribute to the iconic Billy Joel in “Gene Ween Does Billy Joel” at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre as part of its “Live from the Chandelier Lobby” concert series on Saturday, Aug. 5 at 8 p.m.
Tickets, which are $20 in advance or $25 the day of the show, plus fees, go on sale this Friday, May 12 at 10 a.m. and will be available at the Kirby Center box office (71 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre), online at kirbycenter.org, and by phone at 570-826-1100.
Just months after getting Ween back together, Aaron “Gene Ween” Freeman is also revisiting his deep and abiding man-love for the music of Billy Joel. Backed by a seven-piece band of fellow “Joelophiles” led by music director Paul Green, Freeman tears through the hits, and only the hits, from the man from Oyster Bay.
More than four years after their last performance on New Year’s Day in Denver, Colorado, Ween reunited for three shows each in Broomfield, Colorado and New York City in 2016 that sold out instantly.
Formed by Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, Jr. in New Hope, Ween has taken on a cult-like status with legions of devoted fans around the world. Beginning with six self-released cassettes in the 1980s followed by 11 studio albums, six live albums, and a smattering of EPs through the 1990s and 2000s, Ween’s recorded output is far-reaching in its styles, moving from rock to punk to psychedelic to country to alternative and all points in between.
However, it’s the band’s incendiary live shows that have truly cultivated its diehard fan base. Gene and Dean perform alongside longtime band members Claude Coleman, Jr. (drums), Dave Dreiwitz (bass), and Glenn McClelland (keyboards).
