The Frederick Brown, Jr. Amphitheater, a.k.a. the Fred, will hold their annual end of the summer auction on Friday, September 22 and Saturday, September 23 before the REO Speedwagon concert.

Every year, the Fred auctions off autographed paraphernalia from bands that performed at the amphitheater during the summer and items donated by sponsors and community businesses. The profits are then donated to a charitable organization. This year, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation has been chosen as the recipient of the funds raised by amphitheater patrons.

The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation was established in 1982. Today, the Komen Foundation is an international organization with a network of 75,000 active volunteers working through local affiliates and events to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease. As a global leader in the fight against breast cancer, the Komen Foundation supports innovative breast cancer research grants, meritorious awards, educational and scientific conferences and community-based outreach programs around the world.

The two night auction will feature a silent auction with several items, including Braves tickets from TCIS and Delta Community Credit Union, a gift basket from Lexus of South Atlanta, a weekend getaway at the Wyndham Peachtree Conference Center and many other great items to bid on. Closing out the silent auction will be a live auction featuring autographed guitars and framed autographed CD’s from Concert Series I and II. The Fred’s gates will open at 6 p.m. at which time attendees will be able to browse through the auction items and begin placing bids for the silent auction. The opening act for the concert will go on stage at 8 p.m. and at 8:30 p.m. the winners of the silent auction will be announced. The live auction will also be held beginning at 8:30 p.m. REO Speedwagon is set to take stage at 9 p.m.

After the silent auction each night, REO Speedwagon will come out to rock the crowd. The rock band, which grew to fame in the 1970s and ‘80s, is best known for their hits like “Keep on Loving You” and “Can’t Fight the Feeling.” Their song “Take it on the Run” from their album “Hi Infidelity” peaked at number five on the U.S. charts. Some of their earlier records including “Ridin' The Storm Out,” "Golden Country," "Roll With The Changes" and "Time For Me To Fly" enjoy continuous rotation on classic rock radio stations.

The boys of REO Speedwagon, Kevin Cronin (lead vocals, guitar); Bruce Hall (bass); Neal Doughty (keyboards); Dave Amato (lead guitar); and Bryan Hitt (drums), have rolled into 2006 full throttle. 

The latest chapter of REO’s history began in the spring of 2000 when the band joined forces with fellow Midwest rockers, Styx, for a sold-out, nationwide, co-headline tour. The band members became such good friends and the tour was such a success, that the tour was captured on a live CD and DVD entitled “Arch Allies.” The bands appeared together on “The Today Show,” VH1 and on numerous syndicated radio shows. Together, the bands organized a series of concerts to benefit the New York Port Authority Police and the families of the officers who lost their lives in the September 11 attacks. REO and Styx continue to pack venues across the country whenever they appear together in concert.

Over the following two years, REO has toured non-stop, playing all the usual concert stops, but also getting back to the band’s roots in small town America. “These are the people who supported our music from the beginning. This is REO country,” said Cronin. These are the people who sing along every night to the songs he has written.
 
In 2003 REO joined fellow classic rockers Journey and old friends Styx for the “Main Event Tour,” a tour of the arenas which they had all been filling since the late ‘70’s.

While not touring, the band has been in the studio for the last 18 months working on their first CD of new songs since 1996’s “Building The Bridge.”
 
“It has been an intense few years, crazy years for me, but that’s when I usually do my best writing,” said Cronin. “All of us have been going through some big time changes, and it shows in our performances on the new record.”

The band has teamed up with producer, keyboard whiz and all around musical genius Joe Vannelli.

The band is putting the finishing touches on the new album. The record will be released, “when all the pieces are in place, and the time is right” which most likely translates to late 2006 or early 2007.

Tickets to the REO concert can be purchased at the amphitheater box office, at any Ticketmaster retail location, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 404-249-6400.

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