Peter Noone, Dweezil Zappa, and Sara Evans Take the MPAC Stage in August

It's an evening of classic 60s pop when Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone and The Buckinghams take the stage in a double bill at Mayo Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, August 1 at 8 pm. Tickets are $39-$79.

Peter Noone is a multi-talented entertainer who has been delighting audiences nearly all his life. As a child, he played "Stanley Fairclough" in the long-running British soap opera Coronation Street. He was also featured in the television series Knight Errant, Family Solicitor and Monro's Saki Stories.

At the age of fifteen, Peter achieved international fame as "Herman,, lead singer of the legendary pop band Herman's Hermits. His classic hits include: "I'm Into Something Good," "Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter," "I'm Henry VIII, I Am," "Silhouettes,, "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat" and "There's A Kind of Hush." Ultimately, Herman's Hermits sold over fifty-two million recordings. In all, fourteen singles and seven albums went gold. As "Herman," the photogenic Noone graced the cover of nearly every international publication including Time Magazine. He performed on hundreds of television shows and appeared with such luminaries as Ed Sullivan, Jackie Gleason, Dean Martin and Danny Kaye. He was cast as the engaging "Duke of Cheshire" in ABC's musical version of The Canterville Ghost. Soon thereafter, he portrayed the title role in HallMark Hall of Fame's Pinocchio. He also starred in three highly successful feature films for M-G-M: Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter, Hold On! and When The Boys Meet The Girls.

He consistently plays to sold-out venues and his admirers span the generations. Today's teen girls scream just as passionately as their mothers did back in 1965, prompting VH1 to select Noone as their viewer's choice for the "Sexiest Artist of the Year." There is no doubt that Peter Noone's extraordinary talent, disarming wit, handsome features and compelling stage presence will continue to delight fans of all ages, for a long, long time to come.

For more information, http://www.hermanshermits.com/

One of the most beloved and respected Chicago bands ever to explode onto the national scene, The Buckinghams' live concerts pack power into 60s pop rock. Bringing back great memories with their chart-topping 60s hits, The Buckinghams also perform popular 70s favorites in their powerful sets, electrifying audiences with dynamic vocals and solid harmonies. Since 1985, original Buckinghams Carl Giammarese and Nick Fortuna and their band have continued to deliver fast-paced, solid shows that bring crowds to their feet to dance along.

Their #1 song, "Kind of a Drag," is a standout favorite that first made them famous. Next came seven national chart hits, 15 singles, and eight acclaimed albums. When Billboard Magazine named them "The Most Listened to Band in America," The Buckinghams became national favorites on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Smothers Brothers' Comedy Hour, American Bandstand, and more.

Thousands of loyal fans remain devoted today, as their hits continue to be heard on oldies radio, classic rock stations, Sirius/XM satellite and Internet channels. Enthusiastic and effervescent as when their records began their ascents up national charts, The Buckinghams' Giammarese and Fortuna deliver nonstop, high-energy performances that audiences appreciate and request in shows filled with longtime fans, as well as new friends-teens and young adults.

For more information, http://www.thebuckinghams.com/

Mayo Performing Arts Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, presents a wide range of programs that entertain, enrich, and educate the diverse population of the region and enhance the economic vitality of Northern New Jersey. The 2017-2018 season is made possible, in part, by a grant the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as support received from the F.M. Kirby Foundation and numerous corporations, foundations and individuals. The Mayo Performing Arts Center has been designated a Major Presenting Organization by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Mayo Performing Arts Center was named 2016 Outstanding Historic Theatre by the League of Historic American Theatres, and is ranked in the top 50 mid-sized performing arts centers by Pollstar Magazine.

Guitarist Dweezil Zappa leads a group of top musicians in a concert experience that celebrates the music of his father Frank Zappa and all of his artistic subtleties, Wednesday, August 2, 2017 at Mayo Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $39-$79.

WXPN is the media partner for this event.

The son of Frank and Gail Zappa, it was inevitable that from the moment of his birth his life would be filled wall-to wall with music, his father having listed his religion as "musician" on Dweezil's birth certificate. Dweezil's early years were spent largely away from the spotlight- something of a rarity for the child of a celebrity, but perfect for cultivating a close relationship with his family.

Having watched his father perform concerts from the side of the stage since he was in diapers it was no surprise that he began to show an interest in music early on. At six years old he received his first guitar, a Fender Music Master from his dad. It wasn't until he was 12 that he began to show a serious interest in manipulating the instrument to make music. Having primarily heard the music his father was working on or listening to at home while growing up, Dweezil soon found himself exposed to some new sounds on the radio. Besides his father's music he began listening to the Beatles, Queen, AC/ DC, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Who and Jimi Hendrix. Like many aspiring guitarists of his generation, Dweezil's ear was caught in a stranglehold by the trailblazing guitar styles of Edward Van Halen and Randy Rhoads.

Zappa has been an actor, a vee-jay and performed in a variety of bands prior to developing his project to bring his father's legendary music back to the concert state. He has performed over 1,000 concerts around the world, while still developing his own personal music projects.

Dweezil found himself in the midst of some controversy and family drama after the passing of his mother. The Zappa Family Trust, now operated by Dweezil's two younger siblings, fired o? a cease and desist letter to Dweezil. The letter required Dweezil to immediately stop using the name Zappa Plays Zappa. In response, he changed the name of his band to Dweezil Zappa Plays Frank Zappa and continues to tour playing his father's music for appreciative audiences worldwide.

For more information, https://www.dweezilzappa.com/

Mayo Performing Arts Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, presents a wide range of programs that entertain, enrich, and educate the diverse population of the region and enhance the economic vitality of Northern New Jersey. The 2017-2018 season is made possible, in part, by a grant the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as support received from the F.M. Kirby Foundation and numerous corporations, foundations and individuals. The Mayo Performing Arts Center has been designated a Major Presenting Organization by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Mayo Performing Arts Center was named 2016 Outstanding Historic Theatre by the League of Historic American Theatres, and is ranked in the top 50 mid-sized performing arts centers by Pollstar Magazine.

Multi-platinum selling country singer and songwriter Sara Evans has been called one of the most compelling vocalists of her generation. An Academy of Country Music award winner, Evans has had over 20 hits, including "A Little Bit Stronger," "Born to Fly," 'Perfect," "As If" and "You'll Always Be My Baby." Evans performs her hits and music from her new release Words (July 21) on Friday, August 4, 2017 at Mayo Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $39-$79.

Sara Evans has had five #1 singles, sold millions of records, won the Academy of Country Music's Top Female Vocalist Award and claimed a Country Music Association trophy for her signature song, "Born To Fly." It's tough to imagine many accomplishments Sara Evans hasn't already checked off her bucket list.

And yet, with the release of her eighth studio album, Words, scheduled for July 21, she demonstrates that she's still willing to leap into the unknown, taking greater control of her career and calling the shots in a way that's unusual in country music - particularly unusual for a woman in the genre.

The 14-song collection features fourteen separate female songwriters, including powerhouses Ashley Monroe, Caitlyn Smith, Hillary Lindsey, Hillary Scott, Liz Hengber, Sonya Isaacs and more. The album marks a creative reunion for Evans, pairing her with frequent co-producer Mark Bright (2005's Real Fine Place, 2014's Slow Me Down).

Words is the first project on Evans' own label: Born To Fly Records, appropriately named after that CMA-winning signature song, which celebrated risk and adventure. Much is familiar about Words. Evans' voice is warm and strong, the songs are authentic and memorable, and the actual words themselves resonate with the realities of everyday life.

But the album was an eye-opening experience for Evans as a creative force. As the head of her own small, flexible company, she was able to take a streamlined approach to building it. Instead of subjecting the music to multiple departments, each with their own view of one part of her career, Evans approached it with an instinctual, gut-level focus on making a project that represents the 2017 version of Sara Evans.

"I didn't really go about it in any other way. So what has happened with the music is that it is still very much Sara Evans music. It's just a little bit deeper than I've gone in the past."

Evans is one of country's iconic modern singers and her music has resonated on country radio, at concert halls and amphitheaters, and in fans' personal playlists. And the music she's made to date is authentically her. But where Born To Fly narrowed the crowd of voices around her, Words is distinctively Sara Evans. For a woman who always tackled the music her own way, the new album is 100% her own.

For more information, http://saraevans.com/

Mayo Performing Arts Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, presents a wide range of programs that entertain, enrich, and educate the diverse population of the region and enhance the economic vitality of Northern New Jersey. The 2017-2018 season is made possible, in part, by a grant the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as support received from the F.M. Kirby Foundation and numerous corporations, foundations and individuals. The Mayo Performing Arts Center has been designated a Major Presenting Organization by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Mayo Performing Arts Center was named 2016 Outstanding Historic Theatre by the League of Historic American Theatres, and is ranked in the top 50 mid-sized performing arts centers by Pollstar Magazine.

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