Original members of The Buoys play final reunion concert at Genetti Hotel in Wilkes-Barre on May 14
From a press release:
For the first time in decades, the original living members of Wilkes-Barre rock band The Buoys will perform a special homecoming concert billed as their final reunion.
Produced by Joe Nardone Sr., Thom Greco, and Jim Della Croce, this once-in-a-lifetime show reunites the “Wyoming Valley’s favorite sons” for one unforgettable night of music and memories on Saturday, May 14 in the Grand Ballroom of the Best Western Plus Genetti Hotel & Conference Center in downtown Wilkes-Barre.
Doors open at 6 p.m., and the show begins at 7:30 p.m. A Q&A panel with The Buoys will be part of the program.
General admission tickets, which are $25 in advance or $30 at the door, are on sale now at Joe Nardone’s Gallery of Sound in Wilkes-Barre and Dickson City (cash only), the front desk of the Best Western Plus Genetti Hotel (cash or credit cards), and online on the Facebook event page. Limited Golden Circle reserved tickets are $40 and only available for purchase at the Genetti Hotel (77 E. Market St., Wilkes-Barre); special hotel rates for this event are also available.
The Buoys rocketed to national acclaim in 1971 with the Rupert Holmes-penned smash hit “Timothy.” The controversial song that is often associated with the 1963 Sheppton mining disaster stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for eight weeks and peaked at No. 17 on April 17, 1971. The song reached No. 9 in Canada and No. 13 on the Cashbox charts. The band recorded on Scepter Records and Holmes produced their debut album, which included their follow-up hit, “Give Up your Guns.” Holmes went on to produce Barbra Streisand, win two Tony Awards for his Broadway musical “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” and score two Top 10 hits with “Him” and “Escape (The Piña Colada Song),” yet it was “Timothy” that proudly vaulted The Buoys, Holmes, and Pennsylvania’s Wyoming Valley into the annals of pop music history.
The progressive rockers hit the big time and toured far and wide together for over five years, performing at major rock festivals, colleges, and famous venues like the Whiskey a Go Go in Hollywood and Delaware’s Stone Balloon. And now, over 50 years later, local fans can celebrate the music of The Buoys live in concert with the original members on one historic night, though one will not be present – Jerry Hludzik died in 2020 after a long battle with frontotemporal dementia.
Last year, Sunbury Press published “Somebody Else’s Dream: Dakota, The Buoys, & ‘Timothy'” by music journalist Maxim Furek, described as “a cautionary tale of substance abuse, the pitfalls of fame, and the true price of the rock and roll fantasy.” The book, which covers the local musicians’ careers performing as The Buoys and Dakota, highlights their successes but doesn’t shy away from their professional and personal struggles. It is available online via Amazon and the author’s website.
