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Hippiefest at ‘The Fred’ this weekendWed, 08/12/2009 - 9:34am
By: The Citizen
“If you’re looking for a little ‘Good Lovin’ this summer where everyone will be ‘Happy Together’ and spreading ‘Joy To The World,’ then Hippiefest is just the ticket,” touts Hippiefest tour creator Toby Ludwig. “This festival is for people who weren’t around in the ‘60s and ‘70s or were and just can’t seem to remember... Bring your parents, your grandparents and your kids. Come be a Hippie for a day!” The Fred will host this all-star lineup from the sixties and seventies as Chuck Negron formerly of Three Dog Night, The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie, Badfinger featuring Joey Molland, Brewer and Shipley, and Mitch Ryder of the Detroit Wheels star in this three hour show. The Miami Herald called the event “A taste of Woodstock without the mud and bad acid” while Newsday said that Hippiefest was “Guaranteed to get boomers misty-eyed enough to fog up their bifocals.” It’s easy to see why Hippiefest will, once again, be an evening full of good times and greatest hits as this year’s main artists and their respective bands have amassed a collective total of over three dozen Top Twenty singles with seven of those hitting number one on the U.S. charts. “I’m so looking forward to performing with the fine artists participating in this year’s Hippiefest and singing my 1971 Song of the Year, ‘Joy To The World,’ “ stated Chuck Negron, formerly the singer of Three Dog Night. The band -- who were easily one of America’s most successful bands of the late sixties and early seventies -- had eighteen consecutive Top 20 hits and twenty consecutive Top 40 hits, ultimately selling over ninety million albums total worldwide. Three of their songs -- “Mama Told Me Not To Come,” “Joy To The World” and “Black and White” -- hit number one on the charts. Other Top Ten hits included, “One,” “Easy To Be Hard,” “Eli’s Coming,” “Liar,” “Old Fashioned Love Song,” “Never Been To Spain,” “Shambala” and “The Show Must Go On.” The Turtles first hit the scene in 1965 with their rendition of the Bob Dylan-penned song, “It Ain’t Me Babe,” which landed in the Top 10. However, it wasn’t until two years later that they would release their massive number one hit, “Happy Together.” The song remains a staple on classic rock radio more than forty years later... The band would go on to record such other Top 10 hits as “She’d Rather Be With Me,” “Elenore” and “You Showed Me.” Original vocalists Mark Volman (Flo) and Howard Kaylan (Eddie) -- who host the Hippiefest shows -- have carried on the classic music of the band since its inception and the two still perform dozens of dates a year together as The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie. “The Turtles -- a.k.a. Flo and Eddie -- are really looking forward to performing and hosting on this year’s Hippiefest tour,” stated Kaylan. “Every year, the shows just keep getting better, the audiences are hipper and the concerts take us all back to a happier time. We are, once again, proud and happy to be a part of history. We have a ton of surprises this summer, too.” If you want to hear some great music, here it is... “Come and Get It!” From 1970 to 1972, Badfinger had three Top 10 songs with “Come and Get It,” “No Matter What” and “Day After Day” as well as a Top 20 hit with “Baby Blue.” The band was the very first to sign with the Beatles label, Apple Records. Badfinger featuring Joey Molland (vocals, guitars, keyboards) continues to perform the band’s timeless music and is excited to be a part of this year’s summer tour. “I’m very happy to have been invited back for my fourth Hippiefest tour,” commented Molland. “The shows are great fun for both the audiences and artists alike... I love to watch these great stars like The Turtles performing some of their biggest hits. I get a chance to make new friends and catch up with old ones. The audiences are great. They come in the thousands to remember those Hippie days and we performers use the energy they bring... It’s a blast.” Also performing are Mitch Ryder of the Detroit Wheels (“Devil With The Blue Dress On” and “Sock It To Me Baby”), Brewer & Shipley (“One Toke Over The Line”) The Hippiefest tour -- which captures the spirit of Woodstock and other great music festivals of the era -- will land in nineteen cities for twenty performances throughout the United States including Detroit, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Tulsa, Dallas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego and Fort Lauderdale . Does anybody remember Woodstock? Some do and some don’t... even if they were there Hippiefest is part of the Lexus of South Atlanta Summer concert Series at The Fred. The Hippiefest production is presented by Toby Ludwig and Ron Hausfeld of Flower Power Concerts, Inc.. Let the sun shine in and have some psychedelic fun this summer. All is groovy. For more information, please see the tour’s official site at www.hippiefest.net or www.amphitheater.org or call The Fred Box office at 770-631-0630. login to post comments |