The summertime blues are back and better than ever as Hippiefest returns to the NYCB Theatre at Westbury on Tuesday, Aug. 13.
Hippiefest 2013 will feature such well-known artists as Ten Years After, Edgar Winter Band, Canned Heat, Rick Derringer and Pat Travers.
These five artists will be hitting the road together for a month beginning July 27 at The Cannery Casino in Las Vegas, Nev.
Edgar Winter and Rick Derringer also return from last year, where they performed many a sold out show with Johnny Winter, Leslie West and Kim Simmonds.
In 1967, four young musicians from Nottinghamshire, England – Leo Lyons, Ric Lee, Chick Churchill and Alvin Lee – formed Ten Years After and became one of the biggest names in music.
Their legendary encore, “I’m Going Home,” performed at Woodstock, was captured on film and exposed their sound to a large audience.
Their 10-minute appearance in the Academy Award winning documentary film established Ten Years After place in rock history.
In 1971 the band had a Top 40 hit with “I’d Love To Change The World.”
After Alvin Lee left the band for a solo career, Ten Years After ceased recording and touring. In 2003, vocalist/guitarist Joe Gooch joined the original three members and the band soon released a studio album titled “Now”, which was followed by a live effort in 2005.
Today, they are recreating the music, energy and excitement they’ve been known for over the past several decades.
“All the members of Ten Years After are enthusiastic about reuniting with Edgar, Rick and especially Canned Heat again,” Lee said. “Original members Chick Churchill, Leo Lyons and I first performed alongside Canned Heat at the legendary Fillmore Ballroom on our first tour of the United States in 1968 and have remained good friends ever since. We are also excited to tour the U.S. as we pay tribute to band-mate Alvin Lee, while igniting a new wave of youthful excitement and appeasing long-term fans.”
Lee passed away earlier this year from unforeseen complications following a routine surgical procedure.
Joining the tour for the first time is the funky duo Canned Heat.
Emerging in 1966, Canned Heat was founded by blues historians and record collectors Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson and Bob “The Bear” Hite. Canned Heat’s unique blend of modern electric blues, rock and boogie has earned them a loyal following and influenced many aspiring guitarists and bands during the past four decades.
Their Top 20 country-blues-rock songs from 1968, “On The Road Again” and “Going Up The Country,” became rock anthems throughout the world with the latter being adopted as the unofficial theme song for the film Woodstock.
Their cover version of Wilbert Harrison’s “Let’s Work Together” was actually their biggest hit as it rose to No. 1 in 31 different countries around the world.
“We are all looking forward to a great tour with our longtime friends of Ten Years After and Edgar Winter,” says Skip Taylor, Canned Heat’s longtime manager. “It should be as much fun for us as for the audience.”
Air guitarists will be out in force when Rick Derringer breaks into his well-known rock anthem, “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo.” The song, released in 1973, continues to be a staple on rock radio and was featured in several movies, including the cult classic, “Dazed and Confused.”
Derringer had a band at the age of 17 called The McCoys that had a No. 1 hit in 1965 called, “Hang on Sloopy.” The song would eventually be knocked out of the top spot by The Beatles’ “Yesterday.”
A year after its release, The McCoys would find themselves as the openers for the entire Rolling Stones American tour. In 1977, Derringer would appear on the last Led Zeppelin North American Tour and, in the years to follow, would perform with such artists as Alice Cooper, Steely Dan, KISS, Todd Rundgren and Weird Al Yankovic among others.
A multi-instrumentalist (keyboards/sax/percussion) whose music encompasses many different genres including rock, blues, jazz and pop, Edgar Winter first hit the spotlight with his recording of “Tobacco Road,” featured on his 1970 debut album, “Entrance.” Edgar soon formed the band White Trash and released two hit albums in ‘71 and ‘72 titled, “Edgar Winter’s White Trash” and “Roadwork.”
On the heels of the certified gold album, “Roadwork,” Edgar put together an entirely new outfit called The Edgar Winter Group that would feature guitarist Ronnie Montrose.
In 1973, the band’s first effort, “They Only Come Out at Night,” would eventually reach double-platinum status, selling more than 2 million copies.
Canadian singer/guitarist Pat Travers also joins the tour for the first time. Born in Toronto, he first picked up the guitar just prior to entering his teens, after witnessing a local performance of Jimi Hendrix. His first touring gig came his way when he hooked up with ‘50s Rock & Roll vet Ronnie Hawkins. With his band, Travers enjoyed his most commercially successful period, resulting in a pair of Top 30 releases, “Boom Boom (Out Go The Lights)” from the album, “Live! Go For What You Know,” and “Snortin’ Whiskey” from “Crash and Burn.”
The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $39.50 plus applicable service charges and are available now online at www.ticketmaster.com, charge by phone at 800-745-3000 or at the Westbury box office.
Event, date and time are subject to change. For more information, visit: www.thetheatreatwestbury.com
