LOVERBOY
Everybody’s Working for the Weekend at Fremont Street Experience
for “Nina Blackwood’s Absolutely 80s” Summer Music Festival
Free Concert by Loverboy Saturday, Aug. 6th
Quit Working for the Weekend and head on down to Fremont Street Experience for “Nina Blackwood’s Absolutely 80s” music festival featuring a free concert by Loverboy, Saturday, Aug. 6th at 9 p.m. on the 1st Street Stage.
Loverboy
After countless sellout stadium tours, three multi-platinum albums and a string of hit singles that have since become the party anthems of an entire generation, Alberta, Canada’s Loverboy stands today as one of the most beloved rock acts in modern history. The band was formed in Calgary in 1980 and is comprised of vocalist Mike Reno, guitarist Paul Dean, keyboardist Doug Johnson, drummer Matt Frenette and bassist Ken “Spider” Sinnaeve (who replaced original bassist Scott Smith after a tragic boating accident in 2000 claimed his life.) The group’s 1980 eponymous debut featured the rock singles “Turn Me Loose” and “The Kid Is Hot Tonite,” collectively propelling the release to gold status in both the band’s native Canada and the United States. It was the anthemic “Working for the Weekend” (from 1981’s Get Lucky) however which truly delivered Loverboy mega-rock attention, earning the group a staggering eight Juno Awards by the end of the year, the most received by a single group or individual to this day. With the momentum of such a feat, the group continued their success with 1983’s Keep It Up (featuring the smash hit “Hot Girls in Love”,) 1985’s Lovin’ Every Minute of It (whose title track and follow-up single, “This Could Be the Night,” led to the album’s double-platinum status) and 1987’s gold-certified Wildside. Loverboy embarked on several successful Canadian and American tours and released several hit albums throughout the 1990s (including 1998’s gold-certified Loverboy Classics,) and their first live album, Love, Loud and Loose, was released in 2001. The band continues to tour extensively.
About “Nina Blackwood’s Absolutely 80s”
Fremont Street Experience’s “Nina Blackwood’s Absolutely 80s” highlights the music and culture of the 1980s with free headliner concerts. Throughout the summer visitors can also enjoy a stage extravaganza The Nancy Rayguns, an original production show, “VJ Invasion: Launch Date 8.1.81,” Las Vegas based premiere cover band Venus Rising, Blackwood’s countdown of her 100 greatest songs of the 80s on Viva Vision and a chance to travel Back to the Future with a rare 80s icon, a DeLorean DMC-12.
Blackwood, an original MTV VJ, is synonymous with ‘80s music, helping to set the musical tastes and trends still celebrated today. She continues to highlight the era that changed music forever with her radio shows on Sirius XM channel “80s on 8” and on syndicated radio shows “Nina Blackwood’s Absolutely 80s” and “Nina Blackwood’s New Wave Nation.” Blackwood is also revealing her personal 100 greatest songs of the ‘80s over the course of the 100-day celebration with one selection revealed every night on Viva Vision.
Free Headliner Concerts
Blackwood guest hosts a series of free headliner concerts throughout the summer that includes ‘80s artists: Loverboy on Aug. 6th; Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet with Men Without Hats on Aug. 20th and Howard Jones on Sept. 3rd. All concerts start at 9 p.m.
The Nancy Rayguns
The Nancy Rayguns are more than just a cover band; they are a complete show with stage sets, music videos, comedy and of course, the VAL-2600, 1985’s most powerful interactive supercomputer. Their mission is to rid the world of bogus music and to help the audience relive the 1980s with the best jams of that era. The band, which consists of Kim Gone Wild, Iceman, Dig Dug, Howard Joneson and The Noid, will bring audiences back to the days of leg warmers and scrunchies with spot-on renditions of such classic hits like “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Kids in America,” “My Sharona,” “Safety Dance,” “Lucky Star,” “Electric Avenue,” “Its Tricky” and many more. The Nancy Rayguns will perform Tuesdays through Fridays with three 45-minute sets starting at 9, 10 and 11 p.m. on the 3rd Street Stage.
“VJ Invasion: Launch Date 8.1.81”
Fremont Street Experience’s “VJ Invasion: Launch Date 8.1.81” is an homage to the video music generation that began Aug. 1, 1981 with the birth of MTV. This original production is a 35-minute show full of high energy singing and dancing featuring classic hits from the 80s such as “Video Killed the Radio Star,” “We Got the Beat,” “Tainted Love,” “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” “Walk Like an Egyptian,” “Whip It,” “Sweet Dreams” and many more. Visitors can enjoy this blast from the past Thursdays through Tuesdays with three shows a night at 8, 9 and 10 p.m. on 1st Street Stage with the first performance starting on Sunday, May 29th.
Venus Rising
Venus Rising is a well-known Las Vegas-based premiere cover band with a huge song list that covers everything from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, to current top 40 music. Venus Rising features Miss Heather Riggi on lead vocals, Eden Stollman on guitars, Mark Sidener on drums and David Mark Miller on keyboards and bass. Heather puts on quite the stage show, her dynamic singing and performing is not to be missed. Eden has played with Vixen and Bob Seger, Mark is highly regarded as a veteran of the Vegas music scene and David is a well-known TV composer. Venus Rising has opened for Jefferson Airplane/Starship, The Fifth Dimension, Rare Earth, The Grass Roots and Canned Heat. For complete band bio and information visit their website at venusrisinglv.com.
Venus Rising will be playing the 3rd Street Stage at 9:10 p.m., 10:10 p.m. and 11:10 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays throughout Nina Blackwood’s Absolutely 80s (except headliner Saturdays on June 4, June 18, July 23 and Aug. 20).
Fremont Street Experience’s three stages will be active every night as the 100-day flashback to the 80s takes over downtown through Labor Day Weekend.
The nightly lineup of Viva Vision shows will include custom productions remembering the decade of the ‘80s. Also featured on Viva Vision during “Nina Blackwood’s Absolutely 80s” will be “KISS Over Vegas” highlighting 1983 hit “Lick it Up,” “George Thorogood & the Destroyer’s Bad to the Bone” and a 1980’s chart toppers Queen with “A Tribute to Queen.”
For complete information on the headliner concerts and nightly entertainment, visit www.vegasexperience.comto plan an awesome experience that will take you back to the ‘80s. You can also become a Facebook fan of Fremont Street Experience to get the latest insight and buzz about “Nina Blackwood’s Absolutely 80s.”
About Fremont Street Experience
Fremont Street Experience is a five-block entertainment complex located in historic downtown Las Vegas. Fremont Street Experience features Viva Vision, the world’s largest video screen which is 1,500 feet long, 90 feet wide and suspended 90 feet above the urban pedestrian mall. Viva Vision features nightly spectacular light and sounds shows with 12.5 million LED lights and a 550,000-watt sound system. Fremont Street Experience is a one-of-a-kind venue which includes free nightly concerts and entertainment on two stages. With direct pedestrian access to 10 casinos, more than 60 restaurants and specialty retail kiosks, Fremont Street Experience attracts over 17 million annual visitors. Fremont Street Experience can be found online at www.vegasexperience.com .