Beach Boys celebrate 50th anniversary at Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre on March 24
From a press release:
The F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre plans to kick off the summer of 2018 early with the return of the legendary Beach Boys for their 50th Anniversary Tour on Saturday, March 24 at 7 p.m. as part of the PNC Celebrity series.
Tickets, which are $45, $59, and $75, plus fees, go on sale this Thursday, July 13 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. A Kirby Member pre-sale begins on Wednesday, July 12 at 10 a.m.
Captained by Mike Love, The Beach Boys play an astoundingly busy schedule of concerts, averaging 150 shows a year, ranging from sun-drenched summer festivals to gala New Year’s celebrations and special events worldwide. In 1974, Mike Love’s concept album “Endless Summer” ignited a second generation of Beach Boys fans and stirred a tempest that rocked the music world.
Love’s role as the band’s frontman sometimes overshadows his stature as one of rock’s foremost songwriters. “Surfin’,” The Beach Boys’ first hit, came from his pen. With his cousin, Brian Wilson, Love wrote the classics “Fun, Fun, Fun,” “I Get Around,” “Help Me Rhonda,” “California Girls,” and the Grammy-nominated “Good Vibrations.” Years later, he showed he still had the lyrical chops by co-writing the irresistible and chart-topping “Kokomo.”
Grammy-winning songwriter Bruce Johnston (Barry Manilow’s “I Write the Songs”) joined The Beach Boys in 1965, replacing Glenn Campbell, who filled in for Brian Wilson on vocals/bass when he retired from touring. Highly regarded as a singer/songwriter, Johnston’s vocal work with such legendary artists as Elton John and Pink Floyd firmly established him among rock’s elite artists.
The band appeared on countless worldwide TV shows throughout the years, including “The Ed Sullivan Show,” Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand,” and “The Tonight Show.” Other television appearances include performances on Don Imus’ MSNBC show “Imus in the Morning,” TNT’s NBA All-Star Game, NBC’s Macy’s Day Parade, the “Today” show, PBS’ A Capitol Fourth, “Good Morning America,” “Weekend Today,” and “The O’Reilly Factor.”
In addition to founding Beach Boy Mike Love (lead vocals) and Beach Boy vet Bruce Johnston (vocals/keyboards), Jeffrey Foskett (guitar/vocals), Brian Eichenburger (bass/vocals), Tim Bonhomme (keyboards/vocals), John Cowsill of The Cowsills (percussion/vocals), and Scott Totten (guitar/vocals) round out the band.
Read NEPA Scene’s review of a Beach Boys concert at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in New York last year here, an interview with Foskett here, and another review of Brian Wilson’s recent show at the Kirby Center here.
