‘Little Steven’ Van Zandt brings soul rock and music education to Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre on Oct. 18
From a press release:
It was announced today that Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Steven Van Zandt of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band will bring his own band, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, to the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Soulfire TeachRock Tour.
Tickets, which are $35.50, $45.50, and $63, plus fees, go on sale this Friday, Aug. 24 at 10 a.m. and will be available at the Sundance Vacations Box Office at the Kirby Center (71 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre), online at kirbycenter.org, and by phone at 570-826-1100. An exclusive Kirby Member pre-sale begins on Wednesday, Aug. 22 at 10 a.m.
Steven Van Zandt is a musician, performer, songwriter, arranger, music producer, music supervisor, TV producer, actor, director, Broadway producer, TV and film composer, live event producer, international DJ, activist, historian, teacher, member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and is recognized internationally as one of the world’s foremost authorities on both contemporary and traditional rock and roll.
Van Zandt is currently on the road sharing his TeachRock curriculum through professional development workshops that will happen at every stop of the 2018-2019 tour. The arts integration curriculum uses the lens of music to help children learn all subjects, with innovative lesson plans developed by experienced educators and top experts in the field. From social studies and language arts to geography, media studies, science, general music, and more, TeachRock has engaging and meaningful material for every classroom – that they share with teachers and students at no cost.
The TeachRock pre-show workshop is free to teachers. Teachers who attend the workshop will also receive a free ticket to the show. There are a limited number of spots for each show. Teachers can sign up now at teachrock.org/tour.
After helping create the “Jersey Shore” sound with the Asbury Jukes, “Little Steven” Van Zandt became a founding member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and went on to become a successful solo artist in his own right, recording and performing solo with his band Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul. In 2017, he released his first new album in over 15 years, returning to his rhythm and blues roots with “Soulfire,” which Rolling Stone named one of its “Best Albums of 2017.”
His songs have been performed by artists such as Jackson Browne, Pearl Jam, Jimmy Cliff, Damian Marley, Margo Price, Gary U.S. Bonds, Darlene Love, Nancy Sinatra, Brian Setzer, Black Uhuru, and more.
Van Zandt co-produced the seminal Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band albums “The River” and “Born in the U.S.A.” He also produced albums for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Gary U.S. Bonds, Ronnie Spector, Demolition 23, Majek Fashek, and more. Additionally, he arranged and produced “Introducing Darlene Love,” the critically acclaimed album for the legendary Darlene Love, star of the Oscar-winning documentary “20 Feet from Stardom.”
In 1985, Van Zandt formed Artists United Against Apartheid and wrote “Sun City,” a song featuring over 50 major recording artists protesting the apartheid system and considered by many political experts to be one of the fatal blows to apartheid, leading to Nelson Mandela being freed only a few years later. He was a performer at the No Nukes concert in New York City, the Vietnam Veterans of America concert, LaBamba’s Christmas Show for the Benefit of Missing Children (which he also produced), the Anti-Apartheid concert in Central Park, the Benefit for Passaic Fire Victims, the Amnesty International: A Conspiracy of Hope concerts, Nelson Mandela’s 70th Birthday Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium, and many more. He has twice been honored by the United Nations for his political activism, including the “Sun City” project and film and his involvement in International Peace Day, along with Peter Gabriel. He also established the Solidarity Foundation to promote the sovereignty of indigenous peoples and to foster economic development in harmony with the earth.
Van Zandt co-starred in all seven seasons of “The Sopranos,” playing principle character “Silvio Dante,” a character that he created. He starred in and co-wrote the award-winning series “Lilyhammer,” which was the first original programming for Netflix.
In 2001, he launched “Little Steven’s Underground Garage,” his internationally syndicated radio show and the most successful syndicated rock music radio show in the past 40 years. He also created and produces the first two channels of original content on SiriusXM satellite radio, the Underground Garage (Channel 21) and Outlaw Country (Channel 60).
In 2006, Van Zandt launched his record label, Wicked Cool Records, to further support new rock and roll. He is chairman of the Rock and Roll Forever Foundation, a nonprofit that has developed a History of Rock and Roll curriculum called TeachRock.org, an online educational resource offered free-of-charge to educators and individuals everywhere. Interdisciplinary in nature, it is geared toward middle and high school students but includes resources for learning at all levels and provides a simultaneous solution to two escalating problems: music classes being cut and a high school drop-out epidemic.
