THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 15, 1996 TAG: 9605140095
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Grand Opening Report
SOURCE: BY SUE VANHECKE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 193 lines
Bruce Hornsby
May 15
Hornsby's glossy mid-'80s single ``The Way It Is'' gave the boy from Billsburg a No. 1 hit and a Best New Artist Grammy. These days, the pianist, singer and songwriter is a much sought-after session player and guest artist; he toured as a member of the Grateful Dead for 18 months after keyboardist Brent Mydland's death in 1990. Hornsby and former Dead-mates Bob Weir and Mickey Hart will reunite for the hippie-ish Further Festival, which stops at the Amphitheater June 25.
Tickets: $23, $15, $10; on sale now.
Rod Stewart
May 17
An alumnus of the Jeff Beck Group and Faces, platinum-tressed party boy Stewart went solo in the late '60s, churning out an endless stream of eclectic classic-rock staples, from the soulful ``Maggie May'' to the disco-ized ``D'Ya Think I'm Sexy.'' Older but still remarkably fit, and married with children yet again, Stewart seems to have settled down. But that gravel throat still has a sultry way with a song.
Tickets: $44.75, $34.75, $22.75; on sale now.
Vince Gill with Patty Loveless
May 18
After stints with the pop-harmony Pure Prairie League and Rodney Crowell's Cherry Bombs, singer/guitarist Gill found solo stardom with platinum-selling albums and chart-busting country hits like ``Pocket Full Of Gold,'' ``Liza Jane'' and ``Look at Us.'' The warm-toned tenor will be joined by Patty Loveless, yet another Loretta Lynn cousin, who's rounded up her own string of hits - including ``If My Heart Had Windows,'' ``Timber, I'm Falling In Love'' and ``Chains.'' One of the genre's New Traditionalists, the bluegrass-loving Loveless was recently named Female Vocalist of the Year by the Academy of Country Music.
Tickets: $34.75, $22.75, $14.75; on sale now.
Chicago and Crosby, Stills & Nash
June 1
The jazz-inflected rock band with a horn section from - you guessed it - Chicago ruled '70s rock radio with 20 Top Ten hits like ``Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?,'' ``Colour My World,'' ``Saturday In The Park'' and ``Wishing You Were Here.'' Other impressive stats: a jaw-dropping 15 platinum albums and more than 100 million records sold. Flawless three-part harmonies and rock-solid acoustic musicianship have been CS&N hallmarks since the '60s, along with David Crosby's notorious drug problems, band infighting and the comings and goings of the wayward Neil Young. The trio's back at it again - this time, hopefully not wasted on the way.
Tickets: $34.75, $24.75, $12.75; on sale now.
Dave Matthews Band
June 4
Charlottesville's mega-successful Matthews Band spearheads an emerging Virginia alternative rock contingent - acts like Seven Mary Three and Fighting Gravity - finding fame, if not fortune. Kind of a radio-friendly version of the Grateful Dead with those long-winded jams, Matthews and company kick off their world tour behind new album ``Crash'' at the Amphitheater. Ben Harper opens.
Tickets: $22.50, $22.50, $20; on sale now.
The Virginia Symphony
June 16 and July 4
The Symphony tunes up with two radically different shows in the shed. On June 16, they ditch their tuxes and prove that this is not just your father's symphony with the music of Led Zeppelin. The second date is a traditional Fourth of July show, capped by Tchaikovsky's mighty ``1812'' Overture.
Ticket prices and sale dates TBA.
The Eagles
June 19
The Eagles' smooth-listening country-rock sound took the '70s by storm with a string of super-singles, including the eternal classic rock anthem ``Hotel California.'' In '94, the disbanded players regrouped for a tour and yet another chart-topping album, ``Hell Freezes Over,'' proving there's still plenty of room for some peaceful, easy feelings.
Tickets: $79.50, $79.50, $44.50; on sale now.
Further Festival
June 25
Ex-Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart and their bands headline the hippie answer to alt-rock's Lollapalooza. The all-day carnival will also feature Bruce Hornsby, Jefferson Airplane offshoot Hot Tuna and Tex-Mex rockers Los Lobos on the main stage, plus a colorful cavalcade of Dead merchandisers, non-profit groups and variety acts like the Flying Karamazov Brothers.
Tickets: $27.75 all seats; on sale now.
Sting with Natalie Merchant
July 2
It's been 17 years since pop-punksters the Police arrested an unsuspecting audience of 400 at Rogue's. At the height of the band's success, frontman and closet jazzbo Sting went solo, since turning out at times tasteful, at times pretentious albums of oh-so-literate but eminently listenable jazz-lite. Program-opener Natalie Merchant also quit her folk-rock outfit, 10,000 Maniacs, for a solo career; her '95 debut ``Tigerlily'' finds the sighing songstress exploring a more abstract pop idiom.
Tickets: $49.75, $29.75, $19.75; on sale now.
Steely Dan
July 6
Founded by Bard schoolmates Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, Steely Dan's dextrous, jazz-tinged rock swung the '70s with now-classic hits like ``Rikki Don't Lose That Number'' and ``Hey Nineteen.'' Always more of a studio concept than an actual band, though, the Steelys split in '81 for solo gigs, only to reunite for a wildly successful concert tour in '93, nearly 20 years after their last live performance.
Tickets: $34.75, $34.75, $19.75; on sale now.
Dwight Yoakam
July 9 One of the coolest young honky-tonkers around, ex-Sharon Stone flame Yoakam has been stylishly wedding rock and twang since his groundbreaking '86 debut ``Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.'' - with delectable results. That handsome mug and those too-tight jeans are pretty darn delectable too. David Ball opens.
Tickets: $27.75, $19.75, $14.75; on sale now.
Styx and Kansas
July 13
Brothers in progressive-rock arms, America's Styx and Kansas showed those damned Brits - Genesis, Yes, King Crimson - that classical-inspired, heavy metal bombast was not the sole province of the U.K. Stateside, Styx's portentous opus, ``Come Sail Away,'' provided the soundtrack for many a '70s makeout session, while Kansas' inflated violin-imbued anthems ``Carry on, Wayward Son,'' ``Point of Know Return'' and ``Dust in the Wind'' introduced party-on teens to a little existential angst.
Tickets: $24.75, $19.75, $12.75; on sale now.
Hootie & The Blowfish
Aug. 6
Thirteen million record-buyers can't be wrong. Hootie & The Blowfish took a ``Cracked Rear View'' at America last year and racked up mega-sales with a tasty mix of jangly guitars and warm vocals. The South Carolina band shows no signs of stopping; their second album, ``Fairweather Johnson,'' is currently No. 1 on the Billboard chart, while the first effort's singles, ``Hold My Hand'' and ``Only Wanna Be With You,'' are still all over the radio. The Continental Drifters open.
Tickets: $25, $25, $22.50; on sale now. [Boston] [August 7, Time TBA]
Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band
August 14
Country-Caribbean singer Buffett - with his laid-back and easy, island-breezy narratives of wine (make that margaritas), women, song and the sea - has a lot of local fans. About how many? Rabid Parrotheads snapped up every last ticket to Buffett's show in a single hour.
Sold out.
James Taylor
August 16
Taylor's 1970 LP ``Sweet Baby James'' spent a remarkable two years on the charts and yielded his durable gem ``Fire and Rain,'' indelibly marking him as the quintessential troubled-singer-songwriter. But some of his biggest hits have not even been his own compositions, gently sentimental tunes like ``You've Got A Friend,'' ``Handy Man,'' ``How Sweet It Is'' and ``Up On The Roof.''
Tickets: $34.75, $22.75, $15.75; on sale now.
Brooks and Dunn
October 6
When struggling solo artist Kix Brooks and would-be Baptist minister Ronnie Dunn hooked up in Nashville, the duo became a hit-making force to be reckoned with - their '91 debut, ``Brand New Man,'' gave the world their monster crossover hit ``Boot Scootin' Boogie.'' The pair's also known for their hyperactive live show, which features Brooks leaping and duckwalking like some sort of durn rock star.
Tickets prices and sale date TBA ILLUSTRATION: Color Photos
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH AMPHITHEATER by CNB