The Taft Theatre announced a handful of forthcoming concerts today featuring American Rock & Roll royalty. A couple of those artists are the real deal, but others are mere facsimiles. And that's no judgment on the quality of the shows, just stating facts here.
On Oct. 2, the Taft will host the Tony-winning musical Million Dollar Quartet, based around a 1956 jam session between Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins and featuring actors performing many of their hits. Then, on Oct. 28, Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly will appear at the Taft — in hologram form. (Check out today's Rolling Stone story on the tour here.)
Two legitimate in-the-flesh Rock and Roll Hall of Fame institutions — Brian Wilson and The Zombies — are teaming up for the "Something Great from ’68" tour later this year and, on Sept. 23, they're scheduled to perform at the Taft Theatre. Tickets ($49.50-$79.50) go on sale Friday, June 21 at 11 a.m. via ticketmaster.com.
Wilson — the creative fuel behind The Beach Boys — had announced he was canceling the remaining June dates on his Pet Sounds 50th-anniversary tour — as well as some of his "Greatest Hits Live" shows in August — due to mental health issues that followed recent surgeries. For his Taft show, he'll be joined by fellow Beach Boys Al Jardine (a founding BB member) and Blondie Chaplin, who joined the legendary group in the ’70s. Along with a run through the classics, Wilson and the band will also be performing songs from cult fave albums Friends and Surf's Up.
The Zombies were among the most recent class of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees. The billing for the tour says the group will feature its "current and original lineups together" and the band will play their classic Oddesey & Oracle in its entirety.
