NEWPORT, RI, March 9, 2010 -- The Newport Yachting Center announces that four award-winning headliners offering an eclectic mix of music have already been secured for this summer's 13^th Annual Nantucket Nectars Sunset Music Series. Tickets for Boz Scaggs are currently available while tickets for John Hiatt and The Combo, CAKE and George Thorogood & The Destroyers will be on sale starting next Tuesday, March 16^th at 10:00 a.m. Tiered pricing tickets for all shows can be purchased on-line at www.newportwaterfrontevents.com by using the ClicknPrint system which offers the benefit of “at home” ticket printing. In addition, those interested in tickets can call the Newport Yachting Center Box Office at (401) 846-1600.

 

Dates, times and ticket prices for the four concerts are as follows:

 

Sat., June. 26       John Hiatt and The Combo          $45 preferred/$30 standard

Opening Act: TBD. Festival Stage: TBD.

Know as one of America’s finest singer-songwriter musicians, John Hiatt burst onto the music scene in 1974 after Three Dog Night recorded his song "Sure As I'm Sitting Here" and it became a Top 40 hit. Eleven Grammy nominations later, artists from Eric Clapton and Elvis Costello to Bonnie Raitt, Rosanne Cash and Bob Dylan have covered his songs. Hiatt’s twenty album releases include: Slow Turning in 1988 which featured a Top Ten Mainstream Rock Tracks chart single for the title track; the Grammy nominated Walk On in 1995; and Crossing Muddy Waters in 2000 which was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Recently inducted into Nashville’s Music City Walk of Fame, Hiatt’s latest album, due to be released this month, is entitled The Open Road.

 

Fri., July 2      Boz Scaggs      $77 preferred/$62 standard

Opening Act: TBD. Festival Stage: TBD.

After paying his musical dues and appearing on The Steve Miller Band's first two albums, Children of the Future and Sailor, Boz Scaggs achieved instant stardom in 1976 when he recorded his smash album, Silk Degrees. The album reached #2 on the United

States charts and produced three hit singles: the Grammy winning "Lowdown" as well as "Lido Shuffle", and "What Can I Say". Scaggs followed up that success with two Top 20 hits, "Breakdown Dead Ahead" and "Jojo” off his Middle Man album in 1980. Other hits included the Urban Cowboy movie soundtrack, "Look What You've Done to Me" in 1981 and the Top 40 "Heart of Mine" from his 1988 Other Roads album. In 2003, Scaggs released the album, But Beautiful, a collection of jazz standards that debuted at #1 on the jazz charts and then released a popular DVD and Live CD in 2004. His latest album release is entitled, Speak Low, a return to the American songbook and a follow up to the standards collection of But Beautiful.

 

Sat., July 17      CAKE      $50 preferred/$35 standard

Opening Act: TBD. Festival Stage: TBD.

Often classified as an alternative rock or indie band, CAKE’s music combines multiple musical genres, including funk, rockabilly, pop, jazz, rap and country. Add lyrics full of word play and syncopation, catchy guitar riffs and prominent use of synthesizer and trumpet and you can see why the band has remained popular now entering its third decade together. The Sacramento, California-based band hit its stride in 1998 with their third studio album, Prolonging The Magic, which contained the hit single “Never There” which reached #1 on the United States Modern Rock Charts. The band followed up that success with the album, Comfort Eagle, and the major hit “Short Skirt/Long Jacket” which reached #7 on the Modern Rock Charts, and is now the theme of the television show, Chuck. The band headlined the Unlimited Sunshine Tour throughout the 1990’s along with such acts as The Flamming Lips, The Hackensaw Boys and the Detroit Cobras. CAKE’s songs have been featured in numerous television shows, including The Sopranos, Friends and Smallville, along with movies such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Me, Myself and Irene and Shallow Hal. CAKE is currently working on a new album with an anticipated release date in the fall of 2010.

 

Fri., July 30      George Thorogood & The Destroyers      $47 preferred/$32 standard

Opening Act: TBD. Festival Stage: TBD.

The Delaware-based blues rocker, George Thorogood, is best knows for his hit song, “Bad to the Bone” as well as a series of covers of blues standards such as Hank William’s “Move It On Over” and Bo Diddley’s, “Who Do You Love?” Thorogood and his band, The Destroyers, have released 16 studio albums since they got their start in the mid-Seventies, including five that have been certified Gold.

 

Thorogood first gained mainstream exposure in the early Eighties when his band was the support act for the Rolling Stones tour throughout the United States and appeared as the featured musical act on Saturday Night Live. Soon after, Thorogood released his smash hit song, “Bad to the Bone” and an album of the same name. The song has been used frequently in television, including Married With Children, and the movies, such as Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Known for his relentless touring schedule, George Thorogoood and the Destroyers’ latest release is The Dirty Dozen.

 

“We’ve been trying to secure George Thorogood for years so we’re excited he’s agreed to play and we’re expecting as much success with CAKE as we’ve experienced in the past with Guster and Collective Soul as each has a similar fan base. There is also no reason to expect anything less than the large and enthusiastic crowds which have welcomed Boz and John Hiatt to our venue before,” said Michele Maker Palmieri, General Manager of the Newport Yachting Center. “We’re also having ongoing discussions with more headliners in the hopes of securing a total of 8 to 9 concerts sure to satisfy the eclectic tastes of all our Newport guests throughout the summer. I encourage everyone to experience our unique downtown waterfront setting as it’s sure to create the laid back summer vibe that we’re all craving after this long winter.”

 

The Newport Yachting Center is located on the waterfront in the heart of historic downtown Newport right off America's Cup Avenue. For each night of the Nantucket Nectars Sunset Music Series, the gates will open at 5:30 p.m., music starts on the Festival Stage at 6:00 p.m., the opening act/special guest begins at 7:00 p.m. on the Main Stage, and the headliner starts at approximately8:00 p.m.

 

In addition to Nantucket Nectars, the Series’ other major sponsors include: Miller Lite, Dunkin’ Donuts and Sovereign Bank.

 

For more information on the Nantucket Nectars Sunset Music Series, please go on-line at www.newportwaterfrontevents.com or contact Michele Maker Palmieri, General Manager at the Newport Yachting Center, 4 Commercial Wharf in Newport, at (401) 846-1600, Ext. 222.

 

There’s something for everyone at the Newport Yachting Center’s Newport Waterfront Events. The 2010 line-up includes the 29^th Annual Great Chowder Cook-Off (June 5), the 13^th Annual Nantucket Nectars Sunset Music Series and the 10^th Annual Newport Summer Comedy Series (both held throughout the summer), Newport WineFest (August 20-22), the Newport Arts Festival (August 28-29); the 13^th Annual Newport Waterfront Irish Festival (September 4 -6), the 40^th Annual Newport International Boat Show (September 16-19), the 22^nd Annual Stop & Shop Tastes of Rhode Island (October 2-3) and the 18^th Annual International Oktoberfest (October 9-11). All the events are held at the Newport Yachting Center where all events meet the waterfront and downtown Newport activities are often a part of the pre- or post-event. Visit us at newportwaterfrontevents.com, become a fan on Facebook at facebook.com/waterfrontevents, or follow NewportEvents on Twitter for the latest news, announcements, contests, and exclusive discounts and offers.