
DATE: Thursday, August 28, 1997             TAG: 9708280063

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E6   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:  179 lines

A GUIDE TO WHAT'S ON TAP AT THE AMERICAN MUSIC FESTIVAL

TODAY

Lou Rawls

6 p.m., 24th Street Park. Free.

The throaty soul man of acting and Anheuser-Busch commercials first gained fame with ``Bring It on Home to Me,'' his duet with Sam Cook, and '60s singles ``Love Is a Hurtin' Thing,'' ``Dead End Street'' and ``Your Good Thing (Is About to End).''

Regional band: Michael Mulder, 6 p.m. at Seventh Street Stage. Free.

FRIDAY

KC and the Sunshine Band (7 p.m.), Village People (8:30 p.m.)

Fifth Street Stage. Ticketed event.

The cop, the construction worker, the cowboy, the soldier, the biker and the Native American who put ``YMCA'' on pop music's map two decades ago are back, as the Village People prod at gender stereotypes with a big sense of humor and a thumping disco beat.

Virtually inescapable as the soundtrack to commercials, KC & The Sunshine Band are probably heard as much now as during the '70s disco heyday when they splashed with ``That's the Way (I Like It).''

Spin Doctors

7:30 p.m., 24th Street Park. Free.

The loose-limbed funk-lite of hits ``Little Miss Can't Be Wrong'' and ``Two Princes'' from the Doctors' debut LP ``Pocket Full Of Kryptonite'' had the group headed toward arena status; disappointing followup disc `Turn It Upside Down'' put the group on the festival fast track.

Survivor

6 p.m., 17th Street Park. Free.

Survivor and Stallone will always be linked: 1982's smash ``Eye Of The Tiger'' was the AOR anthem from ``Rocky III'' and ``Rocky IV'' boasted the band's ``Burning Heart.''

Regional bands: R&B Allstars, 6 p.m. at Seventh Street; Quiver, 7 p.m. at 13th Street; Bobby Messano, 8 p.m. at 22nd Street; Skip Castro, 8:30 p.m. at 25th Street. All shows free.

SATURDAY

Hall and Oates

2 p.m., Fifth Street Stage. Ticketed event.

Since releasing their first album in 1973, the Philadelphia duo of Daryl Hall - the blond one - and John Oates - that other guy - supplied a steady stream of radio-ready hits well into the '80s, including ``Kiss On My List,'' ``I Can't Go For That (No Can Do),'' ``Private Eyes,'' ``Maneater'' and ``Out Of Touch.'' Though both singers went on to pursue solo careers, they reunited recently to complete a new Hall and Oates album.

A Flock of Seagulls

1 p.m., 24th Street Park. Free.

Undoubtedly keepers of some of the most unusual coifs of last decade, post-new wavers A Flock Of Seagulls knew their way around a synthesizer, turning shimmering pop like ``I Ran (So Far Away)'' and ``Space Age Love Song'' into MTV hits.

Dave Mason Band

5 p.m., 24th Street Park. Free.

Formerly of Traffic, Dave Mason met with great success as a solo artist, recruiting high-profile pals like Leon Russell, Cass Elliott, Graham Nash and Stevie Wonder on albums that reworked classics like ``All Along The Watchtower,'' ``Bring It On Home To Me'' and ``Crying, Waiting, Hoping.''

Loverboy

9 p.m., 24th Street Park. Free.

Everybody's working for the weekend, or so say Loverboy, the Canadian melodic rockers who first went platinum in 1980 with the hit singles ``Turn Me Loose'' and ``The Kid Is Hot Tonite.''

The Grass Roots

1 p.m., 17th Street Park. Free.

Their 1966 remake of the Italian hit ``Let's Live for Today'' launched the Grass Roots' career, while late '60s hits like ``Midnight Confessions,'' ``Bella Linda'' and ``I'd Wait a Million Years'' kept the grass growing.

The Turtles

5 p.m., 17th Street Park. Free.

Originally a surf instrumental group, the Turtles took their cue from the Beatles and the Byrds and landed a No. 1 hit in 1967 with the exuberant ``Happy Together.''

Foghat

8:30 p.m., 17th Street Park. Free.

British boogie-blues band Foghat first found success stateside with their cover of Willie Dixon's blues standard ``I Just Want To Make Love To You.''

Regional Bands: Power Play, 4 p.m. at 14th Street; Off the Record, 5 p.m. at 20th Street; Madfly, 6 p.m. at 26th Street; Rhythm Kings, 7 p.m. at 13th Street; Rumblefish, 8 p.m. at 22nd Street; The Haze, 8:30 p.m. at 25th Street Park; Falstaff, 10 p.m. at 25th Street Park. All free.

SUNDAY

David Lee Murphy (2 p.m.), Tanya Tucker (3:30 p.m.)

Fifth Street Stage. Ticketed event.

Honky-tonks, pickup trucks and homespun characters color the songs of country singer David Lee Murphy, chart-climbing singles like ``Party Crowd'' and ``Dust on The Bottle.''

Tucker first hit the charts as a teen-ager with ``Delta Dawn'' in 1972; subsequent hits like ``What's Your Mama's Name,'' ``Down To My Last Teardrop'' and ``(Without You) What Do I Do About Me'' cemented her status as country superstar.

The Producers

1 p.m., 24th Street Park. Free.

Atlanta new wavers the Producers hit it big briefly in '81 with snappy quirk-pop like ``What's He Got'' and ``I Love Lucy.''

Taylor Dayne

5 p.m., 24th Street Park. Free.

Diva Dayne's responsible for a string of dance hits, from ``Tell It to My Heart'' to ``With Every Beat of My Heart.''

America

8 p.m., 24th Street Park. Free.

Heavily influence by Crosby, Stills and Nash and sounding an awful lot like Neil Young, America entertained America throughout the '70s with soft rock hits like ``A Horse With No Name,'' ``Ventura Highway,'' ``Sister Golden Hair'' and ``Tin Man.''

Bill Deal and the Original Rhondels

noon, 17th Street Park. Free.

Shaggers, rejoice! The area's very own monarch of beach music takes the stage with members of his original band, the Rhondels.

Average White Band

2 p.m., 17th Street Park. Free.

This soul-influenced Scottish sextet shot to the top of the U.S. and U.K. charts with its 1974 rhythmic instrumental ``Pick Up The Pieces.''

War

6 p.m., 17th Street Park. Free.

A melting pot of styles and ethnicities, War exploded musical and racial barriers in the '70s with the Latin-tinged, jazz/rock/funk hybrid of classics like ``Why Can't We Be Friends,'' ``The Cisco Kid'' and ``Low Rider.'' Over 20 million album sales later, War's again speaking its social conscience with ``Peace Sign,'' the group's eighteenth major label release.

Kansas

9:30 p.m., 17th Street Park. Free.

Prog-rockers with a baroque bent, the artisans of Kansas gave us classic-rock radio staples ``Point Of No Return'' and ``Dust In The Wind,'' among others.

Regional bands: T.F.C. Band, 4 p.m. at Seventh Street; Right On, 4 p.m. at 14th Street; R&B All Stars, 5 p.m. at 20th Street; Wild Heart, 6 p.m. at 26th Street; Kentucky, 7 p.m. at 13th Street; Lake Trout, 8 p.m. at 22nd Street; Fighting Gravity, 8:30 p.m at 25th Street. All free.

MONDAY

The Commitments (1 p.m.), Wilson Pickett (2:30 p.m.), Kool and the Gang (4 p.m.)

Fifth Street Stage. Ticketed event.

The soul band of the '91 film of the same name is still kicking it in the real world, opening for their mentor Wilson Pickett.

Paired with guitarist Steve Cropper, Pickett came up with the classic ``In The Midnight Hour'' and ``Mustang Sally'' and was the role model of the soul music movie ``The Commitments.''

``Jungle Boogie,'' ``Celebration,'' ``Cherish,'' ``Too Hot,'' ``Fresh,'' ``Joanna'' - the list of Kool and the Gang's fun and funky, smooth and soulful hits goes on and on. Ditto the awards and accolades; the band boasts a half dozen platinum and 25 gold albums worldwide.

The Commitments

8 p.m. at the 24th Street Park. Free.

Regional band: Emmet Swimming, 2 p.m. at 25th Street. Free. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

COLUMBIA, AVENUE RECORDS

Among the many groups performing at the American Music Festival are

Loverboy, left, at 9 p.m. Saturday and War at 6 p.m. Sunday.

Graphic

If you go to the Music Festival KEYWORDS: 4TH ANNUAL AMERICAN MUSIC FESTIVAL SCHEDULE