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Warren amp concert series will rock ‘em and sock ‘em

WARREN — River Rock will roll with the punches in its 15th year by adding a night of boxing to its summer lineup of concerts.

In addition to 11 Saturday concerts between June 1 and Labor Day weekend, River Rock will present a Fight Night on Aug. 2 with former middleweight champion Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik.

The boxing ring will be set up on the lawn between the stage and the bowl seating at the Warren Community Amphitheatre with VIP table seating set up in the stage area.

“We’re just trying to do some different things, be a little more creative,” said Sunrise

Entertainment President Ken Haidaris, promoter of the series. “Kelly Pavlik came to us about doing a boxing night. He’s connected with the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) boxing matches and has access to a lot of boxers. I think it’s kind of a good fit.”

Concerts featuring primarily classic rock tribute acts will remain the focus of the River Rock schedule. Bands such as Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd tribute), ZOSO (Led Zeppelin) and 7 Bridges (Eagles) have played the concert series just about every year of its existence.

Others — Disco Inferno, E5C4P3 (Journey) and Queen Nation (Queen) — have emerged as fan favorites in recent years.

“We want to change it up some every year, but people want to see their favorites,” Haidaris said.

One act making its River Rock debut is That Arena Rock Show, which isn’t a tribute to a single artist but focused on the music of ’70s and ’80s rock acts – Guns N’ Roses, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Led Zeppelin and AC/DC — complete with costume changes.

“They play like eight different bands,” Haidaris said. “I like that. If we have a Van Halen tribute, some like them, some don’t. This gives people a whole variety of bands.

“And these bands are getting savvy in marketing themselves. They have a big following and really market themselves, driving people to the venue. The show gets a push from them on one side and us from the other.”

The Fleetwood Mac tribute Fleetwood Gold will be joined by members of Champion High School’s marching band when it plays River Rock on June 29. The marching band will be featured on “Tusk” and a couple of additional Fleetwood Mac tunes.

And for the first time, River Rock will have two different tribute bands devoted to the same artist. The Bob Seger tribute act Forever Seger will be the headliner on Aug. 24, and the first concert of the summer will feature another Seger tribute, Against the Wind, opening for the AC/DC tribute Dirty Deeds on June 1.

Against the Wind is a local act, Haidaris said, and Forever Seger already was booked when Against the Wind contacted him.

“We want to do more local tributes and we want to encourage people to come out early,” he said. “This seemed like a way to do that.”

The one show announced before today is the July 13 concert featuring the Jimmy Buffett tribute act Fins to the Left joined by members of Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band. Buffett died Sept. 1 at age 76.

There will be no opening act, and Fins will play three sets of Buffett favorites with many of the musicians and backing singers who appeared on Buffett’s albums and toured with him, including Mick Utley, Robert Greenidge, Mike Utley, Eric Darken, Tina Gullickson and Nadira Shakur.

Since the show was announced earlier this month, trumpet player John Lovell has been added to the lineup.

“They all just played the big (Buffett) memorial concert at the Hollywood Bowl,” Haidaris said, and the Coral Reefer Band will perform in May at the New Orleans Jazz Fest.

Hadaris is working on adding some new food vendors, and this season will feature an eagerly anticipated debut — permanent restrooms on the grounds of the city-owned amphitheater.

“They’re done and ready to go,” he said. “It’s above and beyond what I expected.”

River Rock at the Amp 2024 schedule

June 1 – Dirty Deeds (AC/DC tribute), Against the Wind (Bob Seger tribute) and Fine Young Men (ska) $10

June 15 – E5C4P3 (Journey tribute) and Best of Times (Styx tribute) $13

June 22 – 7 Bridges (Eagles tribute) and Evil Ways (Santana tribute) $10

June 29 – Fleetwood Gold (Fleetwood Mac tribute) and My Drunk’n Uncle (rock) $10

July 13 – Fins to the Left (Jimmy Buffett tribute) with members of the Coral Reefer Band $15

July 20 – That Arena Rock Show (classic rock tribute) and The Huckin’ Fillbillys (rock) $10

July 27 – Queen Nation (Queen tribute) and No Funk No Justice $13

Aug. 2 – Fight Night at the Amp featuring Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik at 5:30 p.m. $25

Aug. 3 – ZOSO (Led Zeppelin tribute) and AC & the Heat $10

Aug 17 – Disco Inferno (disco tribute) and 1988 (’80s hard rock tribute) $10

Aug. 24 – Forever Seger (Bob Seger tribute) and Harvest (Neil Young tribute) $10

Aug. 31 – Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd tribute) and Invincible (Pat Benatar tribute) $15

All events are at Warren Community Amphitheatre, 321 Mahoning Ave. NW, Warren. Gates open at 5 p.m., and the music starts at 5:30 p.m. except for June 1, when the music starts at 5 p.m., and July 13, when the music starts at 6 p.m.

Starting at $2.99/week.

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