I recently received more news about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert coming to Cary’s Booth Amphitheatre. So far, artists currently or formerly with Journey, Yes, Styx, Traffic, Jefferson Starship, Grateful Dead, John Entwistle Band, Deep Purple, Rainbow, and Blue Oyster Cult will join local artists such as Arrogance, The Connells, Grand Society, and Parmalee.

As reported in an earlier post , the event is centered around Saturday, September 20. The event has grown, though, and will actually begin on Friday, September 19. Anyone holding a ticket to the September 20 show will gain admittance to the September 19 opening night at no additional charge by showing his or her Saturday ticket at the front gate that evening.

Click “read more” for the full press release

CARY, N.C. (July 16, 2008) — The visitRaleigh.com Benefit Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (“Rock Hall”) and the John Entwistle Foundation has morphed into a two-day classic rock festival that will now open the evening of September 19 at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, N.C. and will conclude the next night as was originally planned. The decision to add a second day was made by Rick French, Benefit Concert Chairman and a National Trustee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

The show on September 19 will kick-off at 6:45 p.m. with the visitRaleigh.com national band search winner opening the festival. Details on the contest will be announced this week. Following that performance, the White Sox All-Star Band, made up of artists currently or formerly with Journey , Yes and several other well-known bands, will come together to stage what is sure to be a much talked about and memorable ensemble performance. Closing the evening will be 2004 Rock Hall inductee Dave Mason , co-founder of the legendary band Traffic. Mason, who over his brilliant career has played and recorded with the likes of Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Fleetwood Mac – a band he officially joined and toured with in the mid-1990s – also achieved considerable success as a solo artist with the hit songs “We Just Disagree” and “Save Me,” a duet with Michael Jackson. His 1968 Traffic hit “Feelin’ Alright” has been covered by dozens of artists over the years.

On Saturday, September 20, Grand Society will open the Emerging Artists showcase at 1:00 p.m. They will be followed by North Carolina’s own Parmalee and breakout Louisiana hard rockers Supagroup . Then Raleigh’s own The Connells will take the stage, followed by another legendary N.C. band – Arrogance – that was co-founded by well-known R.E.M. co-producer Don Dixon.

As announced earlier this week, the classic rock band Jefferson Starship , featuring original Jefferson Airplane founders Marty Balin and Paul Kantner , with a special guest appearance by Grateful Dead keyboardist Tom Constanten , will open the headliner portion of the show.

Following Jefferson Starship to the stage will be Dennis DeYoung , a founding member of the band Styx , performing the Music of Styx. DeYoung, a keyboardist extraordinaire and the lead vocalist on Styx hits such as “Come Sail Away,” “Mr. Roboto,” “The Best of Times,” “Lady,” and many, many others, will play in the Raleigh-area for the first time since 1996 when he was last here with the band he co-founded in 1962 and played with through 1999, before embarking on his solo career.

Following DeYoung, members of the former John Entwistle Band will take the stage accompanied by former Deep Purple and Rainbow lead vocalist Joe Lynn Turner, Blue Oyster Cult lead singer and guitarist Buck Dharma and former original Grand Funk Railroad lead singer Mark Farner, performing the greatest hits of those particular bands. Closing that part of the show will be a show stopping performance by another Rock Hall inductee who has agreed to sit in for John Entwistle himself on bass guitar and perform a greatest hits set with members of John’s former band. Finally, a number of the day’s headlining performers and other special guests are expected on stage for a tribute to Entwistle and the music of The Who .

Anyone holding a ticket to the September 20 show will gain admittance to the September 19 opening night at no additional charge by showing his or her Saturday ticket at the front gate that evening.  For more details concert patrons can visit boothamphitheatre.com . All seating on September 19 will be festival lawn only (no VIP or reserved seating will be set up that evening). For those not attending the September 20 show, tickets to the September 19 only show may be purchased at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre box office or via Ticketmaster for $35 beginning July 19 at 10:00 a.m.

“We decided to add the September 19 show as a nice surprise for ticket holders because we didn’t want to turn away some of the amazing talent that wanted to play the show. The Rock Hall and John Entwistle have a lot of friends so turning this into a two-day festival wasn’t a hard thing to do once we solved the logistical challenges,” said French.

The visitRaleigh.com Rock Hall Benefit concert is presented by the Town of Cary and sponsored by SunTrust Bank, American Airlines and Black Diamond Capital Group. Proceeds from the concert will benefit both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s educational outreach and the John Entwistle Foundation’s program of providing musical instruments and music lessons to disadvantaged youths through the public library systems in communities across the country.

About The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is the nonprofit organization that exists to educate visitors, fans and scholars from around the world about the history and continuing significance of rock and roll music. It carries out this mission both through its operation of a world-class museum that collects, preserves, exhibits and interprets this art form and through its library and archives as well as its educational programs.

About The John Entwistle Foundation
Our primary mission is free music education and instruments for underserved children. However, we have also done quite a bit for disaster relief. We feel, as John Entwistle did, that if we can help those in need that we should. We get the foundation involved in fund raising efforts beyond our own mission whenever we can   We do it because we’re able to and quite simply because that’s what John would have done.

About the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau
The Greater Raleigh Convention & Visitors Bureau, as the official destination marketing organization of Raleigh and Wake County, accelerates sustainable economic growth and development by increasing visitor and convention business. Through its website, visitRaleigh.com and other tools, the GRCVB assists local visitors in a variety of ways. Of note, visitors spent more than $1.3 billion in Wake County in 2006 that generated more than $366 total savings per local household in state and local taxes.

About Koka Booth Amphitheatre and the Town of Cary
Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, N.C. is located among 14 acres of stately hardwoods and pines and is beautifully situated next to Symphony Lake. With a capacity for 7,000 people, patrons enjoy concerts in a spectacular setting. Cary is a thriving community in the heart of the Triangle area of North Carolina, between Raleigh and the renowned Research Triangle Park.  Regularly recognized by Money Magazine as one of the best places to live, its tree-lined streets and well-groomed subdivisions and office parks show Cary has grown the right way.

About SunTrust Bank
SunTrust Bank, Central Carolina region is part of SunTrust Banks, Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, and one of the nation’s largest banking organizations, serving a broad range of consumer, commercial, corporate and institutional clients.  As of March 31, 2008, SunTrust had total assets of $179.0 billion and total deposits of $116.2 billion.  The Company operates an extensive branch and ATM network throughout the high-growth Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states and a full array of technology-based, 24-hour delivery channels.  The Company also serves customers in selected markets nationally.  Its primary businesses include deposit, credit, trust and investment services.  Through various subsidiaries the Company provides mortgage banking, insurance, brokerage, investment management, equipment leasing and capital markets services.  SunTrust’s Internet address is suntrust.com .

About American Airlines
American Airlines is the world’s largest airline. American, American Eagle and the AmericanConnection® airlines serve 250 cities in over 40 countries with more than 4,000 daily flights. The combined network fleet numbers more than 1,000 aircraft. American’s award-winning Web site, AA.com, provides users with easy access to check and book fares, plus personalized news, information and travel offers. American Airlines is a founding member of the one world® Alliance, which brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business, enabling them to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. Together, its members serve more than 700 destinations in over 140 countries and territories. American Airlines, Inc. and American Eagle Airlines, Inc. are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation. AmericanAirlines, American Eagle, the AmericanConnection airlines, AA.com and AAdvantage are registered trademarks of American Airlines, Inc. (NYSE: AMR). For more information please visit www.aa.com .

About Black Diamond Capital Group
Headquartered in West Jefferson, NC, Black Diamond Capital Group is a brokerage firm created and staffed by business and finance experts committed to providing commercial entities an alternative to traditional funding for projects and businesses.  Black Diamond Capital Group draws upon its substantial and growing catalogue of domestic and international investors to secure conventional financing, joint venture equity (equity partnership) and venture capital.  For more information on Black Diamond Capital Group and its unique vision, please visit www.blackdiamondnc.com .