As Tricia Lyman first reported with Vallarta Daily, Lou Gramm was unable to attend the Vallarta-Nayarit Classic Rock Festival due to the death of his father the day before the festivals opening party.
Rock vocalist and Hall of Fame songwriter Lou Gramm (The Voice of Foreigner) will have to regretfully bow out of performing at the Vallarta-Nayarit Classic Rock Festival this weekend; the legendary singer’s father passed away yesterday (Wednesday, December 10) in Rochester, NY.
John Zaring, the Festival’s creator and producer, says, “Given this tragic situation for Lou, understandably, he will be staying in the states with his family. On behalf of everyone involved with the Festival, we offer Lou our deepest condolences. I firmly believe that family must come first, and Lou is where he needs to be, which is with his. We’ll see him here next year.”
Supported by both the Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit Tourism Boards, the four-day event will include 3 days of classic rock music performances by 20 artists and bands, a charity golf outing to benefit DIF (a local children’s charity), and the ‘Giant of Rock’ party where legendary soul singer Sam Moore (of Sam & Dave) will be honored for his lifetime of achievements. Gramm was also to be honored.
The lineup for the daily concerts in Nuevo Vallarta includes Dave Mason (Traffic), Americana rockers the BoDeans, rock-a-billy specialists Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom of the Stray Cats, country rockers Poco, Pure Prairie League and Firefall, and iconic classic rock bands Jefferson Starship, Kansas, Cheap Trick, Foghat and Spencer Davis Group. Several solo artists and singers will have their sets backed by the festival’s all-star ‘house band’, including Craig Fuller (lead singer of both Little Feat and Pure Prairie League), former Journey lead singer Steve Augeri, Monkees frontman Micky Dolenz, former Grand Funk Railroad singer Mark Farner and Sam Moore.
The house band includes stellar musicians from several legendary rock acts, including former Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan lead guitarist Jeffrey ‘Skunk’ Baxter, former Fleetwood Mac guitarist and rock-a-billy Hall of Famer Billy Burnette, The Cars guitarist Elliot Easton, bassists Kenny Lee Lewis of Steve Miller Band and Kenny Gradney of Little Feat, drummers Curly Smith (Boston) and Kenny Aronoff (John Fogerty, John Mellencamp), and keyboardist Teddy ‘Zig Zag’ Andreadis (many artists including Carole King, Guns ‘n Roses). In addition the backing soloists, the house band will also play songs from their own catalogs. Rock comic Mark Eddie and guitarist Carlo Vohl are also on the bill.
The concerts will be held in Nuevo Vallarta, located in Riviera Nayarit, in an outdoor space located adjacent to the Hard Rock Hotel Vallarta. The music will be complemented by a mini gourmet food festival featuring cuisine prepared by some the region’s top restaurants. Multiple area hotels including Villa La Estancia Riviera Nayarit, Villa Del Palmar Flamingos, Bel Air Collection Resort and Spa Vallarta, Marival Resort Nuevo Vallarta, Casa Velas Golf Resort, Iberostar Playa Mita, Grand Palladium, Occidental Resort, Riu Jalisco, Now Amber, Dreams Nuevo Vallarta, Hilton Vallarta Resort
& Spa and Hard Rock Hotel Vallarta will host the visiting musicians as part of the support offered by the hotel associations of Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit.
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