Controversial ‘Motor City Madman’ Ted Nugent is back at Penn’s Peak in Jim Thorpe on Aug. 14
From a press release:
It was announced today that the “Motor City Madman,” Ted Nugent, will once again play at Penn’s Peak on Wednesday, Aug. 14 at 8 p.m. as part of The Music Made Me Do It Again! Tour.
Despite his consistently controversial political views that have caused protests and calls for boycotts around the country, Nugent performs at the Jim Thorpe venue annually and recorded his live album “Ultralive Ballisticrock” there in 2011.
“The unbelievable intensity of my fellow music lovers would be more than enough to propel my concerts to godlike heights, but when you add a gathering of PA spirit of the wild Blood Brother outdoors fanatics to the mix, you have scary spiritual liftoff that most musicians cannot imagine. The connection is beyond the human experience, and we captured it,” Nugent said of the recording, released in 2013.
Tickets to his latest local show, which are $35 in advance or $40 the day of the show, go on sale this Friday, March 22 at 10 a.m. at all Ticketmaster outlets, the Penn’s Peak box office (325 Maury Rd., Jim Thorpe), and Roadies Restaurant and Bar (325 Maury Rd., Jim Thorpe). Penn’s Peak box office and Roadies Restaurant ticket sales are walk-up only; no phone orders.
The 70-year-old singer, songwriter, guitarist, and political activist initially gained fame as the lead guitarist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock and hard rock. He then embarked on a solo career and released his debut studio album in 1975. Nugent has gone on to sell more than 40 million albums and play over 6,500 concerts.
The guitar-shredding showman was named Detroit’s “greatest guitar player of all time” by readers of MLive, and his no-holds-barred career spans five decades with gold, platinum, and multi-platinum-selling solo albums released between 1975 and 1980. From the Amboy Dukes’ hit “Journey to the Center of the Mind” to his classics “Stranglehold” and “Cat Scratch Fever” to Damn Yankees chart-buster “High Enough,” his distinct sound has been featured on VH1’s “Behind the Music,” A&E’s “Biography,” and more.
Nugent has attracted attention for his often controversial conservative political views, as well as his strident advocacy of hunting and gun ownership rights. He is a longtime board member of the National Rifle Association and a strong supporter of the Republican Party, making a number of controversial and threatening statements against advocates of gun control, in one case having the Secret Service investigate him based on comments about President Barack Obama; he is currently a strong supporter of President Donald Trump. His outspoken views, which have been condemned as racist and homophobic over the years, have prompted criticism from the media as well as fellow musicians like Paul McCartney, David Crosby, and the band Goldfinger, who have a song titled “Fuck Ted Nugent.”
He is also known for his stance against drug and alcohol abuse and has performed for 55,000 marines, sailors, and families at Camp Pendleton’s Rockin’ the Corps, was honored to join fellow musician Toby Keith on a USO Tour of the Persian Gulf, and has donated in excess of 6,000 concerts and backstage passes to individual troops stateside. A recipient of many commendations from state police, sheriff departments, FBI, and police agencies, Nugent has been lauded for his work with Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the Pass It On Outdoor Mentors Program. He serves as an ambassador for Exodus Place, advancing the goal of “zero veteran homelessness in Michigan,” and works with Operation Finally Home to provide quality, mortgage-free housing for wounded and disabled vets.
Nugent has been named “favorite hunting personality” by readers of Outdoors Magazine. He was inducted into the National Bowhunters Hall of Fame, acknowledged for his skills as an outdoorsman and for his tireless promotion of bowhunting in writings for over 40 publications, his New York Times bestsellers “Ted, White & Blue: The Nugent Manifesto” and “God, Guns and Rock ‘n’ Roll,” along with “Kill It and Grill It,” “BloodTrails” and “BloodTrails II,” and his award-winning “Ted Nugent Spirit of the Wild” television show on the Outdoor Channel, where he is an ambassador for the network.
Read an interview with Nugent conducted before his 2013 Penn’s Peak concert here.
