Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo with Melissa Etheridge, Kool & the Gang with Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King, and The B-52s coming to Pacific Amphitheatre this summer
Costa Mesa, Calif. (March 4, 2019) – The OC Fair has announced three more shows coming to the Toyota Summer Concert Series at Pacific Amphitheatre during the 2019 OC Fair. Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo will bring their 40th anniversary tour to Costa Mesa with Melissa Etheridge on July 20. Plus, Kool & the Gang and Evelyn “Champagne” King will perform on July 31, and The B-52s and Dead Man’s Party will hit the stage on Aug. 1. Tickets for these shows will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 9.
Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo / Melissa Etheridge
Saturday, July 20, 7 p.m.
Tickets start at $40
Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo have been making music together for four decades. They met each other in 1979 for the first time in a small rehearsal room in New York City – and the rest, as they say, is history. Pat Benatar’s staggering vocals and take-no-prisoners attitude, along with Neil Giraldo’s trailblazing artistry as a guitarist, producer, and songwriter, forged the undeniable chemistry and unique sound that created some of rocks most memorable hits, including “We Belong,” “Invincible,” “Love Is A Battlefield,” “Promises In The Dark” and “We Live For Love.” Together they have created two multi-platinum, five platinum and three gold albums, as well as 19 Top 40 hits. They have sold over 30 million records worldwide and have won four consecutive Grammy awards. Benatar and Giraldo have been married since 1982. This summer they will celebrate the 40th anniversary of their musical career with a tour that includes a stop at Pacific Amphitheatre on July 20.
Melissa Etheridge stormed onto the American rock scene in 1988 with the release of her critically acclaimed self-titled debut album, which led to an appearance on the 1989 Grammy Awards show. For several years, her popularity grew around such memorable originals as “Bring Me Some Water,” “No Souvenirs” and “Ain’t It Heavy.” Etheridge hit her commercial and artistic stride with her fourth album, Yes I Am, which featured the massive hits, “I’m the Only One” and “Come to My Window.” Known for her confessional lyrics and raspy, smoky vocals, Etheridge has remained one of America’s favorite female singer-songwriters for more than two decades. In 2016 she released Memphis Rock & Soul, her first album since 2014’s critically lauded This Is M.E. The 12- track album features original material as well as interpretations of classic songs from the legendary Stax catalog. Melissa Etheridge will perform at Pacific Amphitheatre on July 20 to support her upcoming album, “The Medicine Show,” due out April 12.
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Kool & the Gang / Evelyn “Champagne” King
Wednesday, July 31, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets start at $27.50
Get ready for a night of celebrating as Kool & the Gang hits the stage on July 31. Formed in 1968, the band has sold more than 70 million albums worldwide and influenced the music of three generations. Thanks to iconic songs like “Celebration,” “Cherish,” “Jungle Boogie,” “Open Sesame” and “Ladies Night,” they’ve earned two Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, 25 Top 10 R&B hits, nine Top 10 Pop hits, and 31 Gold and Platinum albums.
They’ll be joined by Evelyn “Champagne” King, who released her debut album, Smooth Talk, in 1977, featuring the Top 10 hit “Shame” and “I Don’t Know If It’s Right.” She released a string of hit singles throughout the ’80s including “I’m in Love,” “Love Come Down” and “Betcha She Don’t Love You.” She released her last studio album, Open Book, in 2007 featuring the single “The Dance.”
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The B-52s / Dead Man’s Party
Thursday, Aug. 1, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets start at $27.50
Selling over 20 million albums worldwide, The B-52s have quietly impacted alternative music, fashion, and culture over the course of four-plus decades. Panic! At The Disco, Blood Orange, The Offspring, Pitbull, Roger Sanchez and DJ Shadow have sampled classics from the band’s discography, and Seth MacFarlane’s Family Guy, The Simpsons, Sugarland and more offered up covers of their own. They inched towards the forefront of the post-punk movement in America codified by 1979’s self-titled The B-52s. Not only did the record go gold, but it also placed on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” and VH1’s “Greatest Albums of All Time.” The gold-selling Wild Planet arrived hot on its heels in 1980, and 1989’s watershed Cosmic Thing elevated the B-52s to another galaxy altogether. It moved 5 million-plus units and spawned a string of Top 10 smashes in the form of the Grammy-nominated “Roam” and “Love Shack.” After a 16-year hiatus, The B-52s proved as bright, bold and boundless as ever on 2008’s Funplex. The momentum only ramped up when they toured in 2015 alongside Tears for Fears and more. In the summer of 2018, The B-52s began their 40th anniversary tour alongside Culture Club and will be continuing strong into 2019. As they prepare a high-profile documentary and first official book, The B-52s look forward to inspiring future generations.
Dead Man’s Party, the Oingo Boingo tribute band which has been bringing Boingo tunes live for almost two decades, will join in on the party at Pacific Amphitheatre on Aug. 1. Dead Man’s Party pays homage to the classic Oingo Boingo lineup, featuring a three-piece horn section, guitar, bass, keys, drums and a frontman so convincing that people sometimes believe they are actually watching Danny Elfman himself! Party along to Boingo favorites like “Just Another Day,” “No Spill Blood” and “Only A Lad.”
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Tickets to these shows will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 9. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster and include admission to the 2019 OC Fair. More performances and action sports at the Fair will be announced in the coming months. Sign up for pre-sale emails at ocfair.com/newsletters.
Super Pass holders can purchase tickets to select Pacific Amphitheatre, The Hangar and Action Sports Arena performances at a two-for-one discount. The 2019 Super Pass is a season pass that includes admission to all 23 days of the OC Fair, as well as several exclusive discounts, and is on sale now at ocfair.com/superpass.
The 2019 OC Fair is July 12-Aug. 11, open Wednesday-Sunday.