May 2013 News

by Randy Miramontez

Ironstone Vineyards has announced their 2013 Summer Concert Series, with tickets going on sale Friday May 17 at 10 a.m. at Etix.com.

In a press release today, Ironstone Vineyards, the premiere outdoor entertainment venue of the California Gold Country, announced the line-up for their 2013 Summer Concert Series. This will be Ironstone's 14th season hosting live performances, providing concert goers with a diverse line-up each season.

Nestled against the Sierra Foothills, in the heart of California's scenic Gold Rush Country, Ironstone Vineyards provides an intimate setting in a beautifully done outdoor amphitheater with plenty of lawn seating. The best part -- they have wine!

by Jack Lambert | Photo by Lindsey T/Wikimedia Commons

JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS, Dropkick Murphys and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones are coming to Baltimore this fall as part of an all-day concert in Southwest Baltimore.

The artists are part of "The Shindig" -- being promoted by 24-7 Entertainment -- on Sept. 14 at Carroll Park. General admission tickets to the day-long concert cost $48.50, while VIP tickets are priced at $125. Tickets go on sale to the general public May 17 at 10 a.m.

Gates will open to the park at noon for the concert, with musical acts scheduled to take the stage around 1 p.m.

by Rich Freedman Times-Herald staff writer | Photo by Chris Riley/Times-Herald)

NAPA -- The upstart BottleRock Music Festival proved Thursday it isn't your grandmother's music festival -- especially if your grandmother's from Texas. Not with free packets of granola and samples of veggie burgers handed out like blessings at a baptism.

Featuring JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS, The Black Crowes, Primus and the Avett Brothers, the first of four 10-hour days of music went off without a major hitch.

A few minor hitches, yes, especially for those among the roughly 20,000 on hand paying some high-end dough to see Further, the original Thursday headliner.

by PETER JENSEN | Photo by J.L. Sousa

If youth was served by Macklemore's rap performance at BottleRock's big kickoff Wednesday night, Thursday's music acts attracted a mixed crowd of young and middle-aged people for the second day of the five-day music festival.

JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS, the Violent Femmes, Primus, the Avett Brothers, and The Black Crowes were the big names performing Thursday afternoon and evening, and BottleRock saw its largest crowds yet.

Tens of thousands of people flowed from stage to stage, soaking in the music and sunshine with glasses of wine or cups of beer in hand. The Black Crowes summed up the shift in musical genre after they came on at 5 p.m., saying "Welcome to the rock and roll part of the show."

by Dustin Schoof, photo by Stephen Flood, Express-Times

Jaime Karpovich has a new fan: JOAN JETT.

The "Save the Kales" blogger and RCN TV show host had the chance to cook up a fresh meal for the "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" singer prior to her Saturday performance at SteelStacks in Bethlehem.

Karpovich, of Bethlehem, says she was approached by ArtsQuest; only to find out that instead of just providing recipes and ideas, she would be the one to create them.

"They (the band) were so happy with it, they ended up ordering extra and more than they were originally going to order to have some to take with them on tour," Karpovich says. "That was awesome and flattering, I must say."

Karpovich whipped up a vegan dinner that included a "green lasagna" dish -- made with tofu mixed with basil and garlic and layers of spinach and kale, with roasted garlic and non-dairy, cashew-based cream sauce -- and a few side dishes, as well. Among the side dishes were mashed root vegetables and vegan chicken over orzo with a smokey, non-dairy cheese sauce, made from scratch. "It was good, hearty food," Karpovich says.

Karpovich says she got to present the food to the band prior to the Muscular Dystrophy Assocation's "Ride for Life" concert on Saturday. She says she briefly met with Jett and her band before they went on stage. Karpovich says bassist Sean Koos and keyboardist KENNY LAGUNA immediately sampled the food and praised her for her culinary creations.

Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images

On Sale May 11 at 10 a.m.JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS (July 25), The Wanted (August 7)

COSTA MESA, Calif. --

JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS will perform on Thursday, July 25 and The Wanted will perform on Wednesday, August 7, as part of the Toyota Summer Concert Series at the Pacific Amphitheatre at the 2013 OC Fair. As always, concert and action sports tickets include Fair admission.

Tickets for these events go on sale Saturday, May 11 at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster or at the OC Fair & Event Center Box Office, which is open Wednesday 5-9 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Due to construction scheduled through June, the Box Office is only accessible through Gate 4 off Arlington Drive near Fairview Road. Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, online at ticketmaster.com or by phone (800) 745-3000.

In Pacific Amphitheatre
Thursday, July 25, 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $19.50

The remaining concerts at the 2013 OC Fair will be announced in the coming months. Sign up for pre-sale emails at ocfair.com.

The 2013 OC Fair, themed Come & Get It, is July 12 -- August 11 and will bring 23 days of food, rides, exhibits, animals, music, action sports and fun, as well as the Super Pass, Toyota Summer Concert Series at the Pacific Amphitheatre, The Hangar and Action Sports Arena. The Fair is open Wednesday-Sunday. Concert tickets, action sports reserved seats, single-day general admission and the popular Super Pass are available for purchase online at ocfair.com or from the on-site Box Office.

by John J. Moser | The Express-Times, Photo by Ron Murphy/Special to Lehigh Valley Music

It's simple logic

JOAN JETT loves rock and roll.

I love rock and rock.

Therefore, I loved JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS as headliner at the opening day of the MDA Ride For Life event at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks in Bethlehem.

Jett was everything a rock and roll show should be.

JOAN JETT Live SteelStacks 3She started fast out of the gate with three of her biggest songs -- her first solo single, "Bad Reputation"; the hit "Cherry Bomb" from her first group, the female seminal punk band The RUNAWAYS; and her 1982 Top 20 cover of the Gary Glitter song "Do You Wanna Touch."

All three were played as they should be -- blasts of rock, full of energy, at damned-the-torpedoes speed. In fact, that approach didn't flag throughout her 65-minute set. That was one of the reason she was able to squeeze in 16 songs, even with song and band introductions and audience interaction.

Dressed in a glittery red jumpsuit and guitar worn gunslinger low, Jett offered her music straight-forward in the way punk should be played.

by Dustin Schoof | The Express-Times, Photo by Chris Post

JOAN JETT still loves rock 'n' roll.

The woman born Joan Larkin made that abundantly clear Saturday night during her return to Bethlehem with her band, the BLACKHEARTS, for the first time since rocking Musikfest in 2009.

Jett headlined the first night of the two-day Muscular Dystrophy Association's "Ride for Life" fundraiser event with a bombastic performance on the Levitt Pavilion stage at SteelStacks.

Still oozing the same cool and exuding the same feisty swagger she did when she was a teenager cranking out riffs as a member of The RUNAWAYS, Jett played to a packed Pavilion lawn, jammed with motorcyclists who participated in the day's ride to Bethlehem. (The Bacon Brothers performed in 2012.)

Wearing a hoodie and tight and shiny red pants, Jett -- introduced by 2013 MDA National Goodwill Ambassador, Bryson Foster, of Concord, N.C. -- and her band hit the crowd hard and fast with a three-peat of hits: the boisterous "Bad Reputation," followed by The RUNAWAYS' fiery punk rocker "Cherry Bomb" and then "Do You Wanna Touch Me."

Though Jett's voice, and for the most part, her music, have not changed much since her heyday in the early and mid-1980s, the new songs she unleashed did not sound dated; instead, coated in that same raw exuberance of her earlier material (a couple of power chords, some siren screeches and lots of distortion). New tunes such as "Make It Back," "Soulmates to Strangers" and the punchy, straightforward "T.M.I." could have easily been on any one of Jett's 80s efforts.

Jett took a moment to reflect on physically growing older and maturing but still having the mindset and spirit of a person in their 20s before launching into the song "Hard to Grow Up." She followed it up with spirited runs through "Fragile" and "Reality Mentality."

by James

The Ride for Life event, which raises money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, rolls into Bethlehem this weekend, and one of the main attractions of this year's fundraising event is a performance by legendary rock outfit JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS.

While in years past the event and the music that accompanied it was only open to motorcyclists, the organizers have decided to open the concert up to the general public for 2013.

This year's Ride for Life is the 26th annual event, and it coincides with the 110th anniversary of the Harley Davidson motorcycle company. Ride for Life raises the most money of any Harley Davidson fundraiser. Over the past 25 years, it has raised more than $17m for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Poster printing can help spread the word about the upcoming event and the concert. Posters can be hung in businesses around Bethlehem, and those of the performing acts are sure to be on sale at the festival.

Tickets for JOAN JETT's performance on May 4 and 5 will be $70 for general admission. To participate in the Ride for Life event, including the concert, tickets are $40 and are available at participating Harley Davidson Dealerships. ÔConcert only' tickets are on sale at the ArtsQuest Box Office.

All of the money raised during the weekend's event will stay in the surrounding area, including Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, northern Virginia, Delaware, and Maryland. The money will directly benefit families affected by muscular dystrophy and other muscle diseases.