Providence Performing Arts Center Announces 'Cool Summer Nights' Concert with Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes

The Providence Performing Arts Center has announced the first Cool Summer Nights concert, which features Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes and John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band on Friday, August 20, 2021 at 7:30P. This will be the first live, in-person concert that PPAC has presented since the live entertainment industry shutdown on March 12, 2020.

Tickets will go on sale for this Cool Summer Nights concert on Monday, June 21 at 10A; ALL SEATS are just $25 (inclusive of $4 per ticket restoration charge); tickets are reserved seating sold on a first come, first served basis. Tickets can be purchased at the PPAC Box Office (220 Weybosset Street in downtown Providence), online at ppacri.org and by phone at 401.421.ARTS (2787). Box Office hours are Monday through Friday, 10A to 5P. Regular service charges for phone and online sales apply.

PPAC has no capacity restrictions and all PPAC event employees are fully vaccinated. PPAC is a GBAC STAR accredited performing arts venue, indicating that the theatre has adopted the most stringent protocols for cleaning, disinfection, and infectious disease prevention. PPAC is following current COVID-19 health and safety guidelines as recommended by the CDC and state government (PPAC's COVID-19 Safety Measures can be accessed here).

"We are thrilled that after sixteen months, live music is returning to PPAC," Singleton said. "All of our seats for the Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes and John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band concert will be $25 each; this is an affordable way to go out, have fun, and listen to live music with your family and friends! We can't wait to have people back in the theatre this August."

Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes have flourished over the past thirty years with their exuberant and distinctive "Jersey Shore" sound; they have released over 30 albums, including "Hearts of Stone," which was named by Rolling Stone as one of the top 100 albums of the 70s and 80s. The band emerged from the New Jersey Shore scene in 1974, and though they carried over a significant influence (and some key personnel) from Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, the Jukes evolved as more of a R&B horn band in the Memphis Stax Records tradition. Organized by singer John Lyon, guitarist/songwriter Steve Van Zandt (who left for the E Street Band in 1975, but continued to produce, manage, and write songs for the Jukes), and Richie Rosenberg, the band is well known for their high-energy shows and no-holds-barred songs, including "I Don't Wanna Go Home," "Havin' a Party," "The Fever," "Talk to Me," "Trapped Again," and "This Time It's For Real."

John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band began their career in 1972, playing Northeast beach resort towns, like Narragansett and Misquamicut. They achieved mainstream success in the 1980s, with the "Eddie and the Cruisers" Motion Picture Soundtrack. The hit single "On The Dark Side" held the #1 position on the Billboard Rock charts and the MTV video charts for five consecutive weeks. The album sold over 3 million copies and was certified triple Platinum by the RIAA. The fictional band Eddie and the Cruisers that they portrayed in the film Eddie and The Cruisers was ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the 25 Greatest Movie Rock Bands. In 2012, John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band were inducted into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame.