WILMINGTON — Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront Park hosted its first successful round of shows over the weekend as jam band Widespread Panic toured through for a three-night run. More concerts keep adding to the lineup this year, at both the 7,200-seat Riverfront Park and its smaller sister amphitheater, Greenfield Lake (1,200 seats), three miles away. Brooklyn Arts Center on Fourth Street also has announced a fall concert.
RELATED: In Photos: Widespread Panic breaks in Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront Park
Tickets go on sale this week for Thievery Corporation, as well as Gov’t Mule, while the big band sounds of Chicago are on sale now too. Riverfront Park announced Tuesday that soul crooner Leon Bridges has secured a May 17, 2022 date for a concert by the river; tickets go on sale by the end of the month.
Here’s the scoop:
Gov’t Mule and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
It’s been 25 years since Gov’t Mule started to make an imprint on the Southern jam band scene. Led by Warren Haynes, the band — Matt Abts, Danny Louis, and Jorgen Carlsson — started as Haynes’ side project in 1994, with fellow Allman Brothers member Allen Woody. Though Woody passed away in 2000, the band has carried forth and released over 20 albums throughout the years.
Their stopover in Wilmington is co-headlined with Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue. Known in real life as Troy Andrews, Trombone Shorty began playing brass at age 4 in the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans, and by 8 was playing in bars and parades (the musician also can turn up the keyboard and organ). He’s released 11 albums but has collaborated with numerous artists and side projects since the early 2000s.
Tickets to the Sept. 23 show at Live Oak Pavilion start at $59 and go on sale to the public Friday, July 23.
Leon Bridges
The soulful sounds of Leon Bridges hit the scene in 2015 with his debut album “Coming Home,” which struck gold. Tracks like “Smooth Sailin'” and “River” captivated listeners.
The Georgia musician continued building steam, receiving a Grammy nomination in 2016 for Best R&B Album and Best Music Video for “River.”
In 2019, Bridges’ followup, “Good Thing,” also was nominated for Best Album, though he won for Best Traditional R&B Performance with “Bet Ain’t Worth the Hand.”
Fast forward to 2021, and the musician is coming upon another release, “Gold-Diggers Sound,” slated to go live Friday, July 23. Bridges will be touring in support of the album, which includes a stop at Riverfront Park. Though concertgoers will have to wait until May 17, 2022 to catch him live, tickets go on sale Friday, July 30, 10 a.m.
Thievery Corporation
Rob Garza and Eric Hilton have been churning out electronic dance tracks for more than two decades. They blend world music — bossa nova, jazz, Indian classical and even Middle Eastern — into Thievery Corporation’s repertoire.
The duo has released 10 albums since 1996, including 2020’s “Symphonik,” which they’re touring in support of this fall. Musicians joining them onstage will be Jeff Franca on drums, Rob Myers on sitar and guitar, Frank Orrall on percussion, drums and vocals, and Ashish “Hash” Vyas on bass.
Thievery Corporation will land at Greenfield Lake Amphitheater on Oct. 9; tickets will go on sale to the public Friday, July 23.
Chicago
The big-band rock ‘n’ roll sounds of the 11-piece Chicago will move through Riverfront Park on Oct. 12. The band planted its roots in the late ’60s as The Big Thing before growing into The Chicago Transit Authority by 1968. They shortened their name in ’69 and evolved throughout the decades with more than two dozen band members, and have gone on to score hits like “25 or 6 to 4” in the ’70s before a resurgence in the ’80s had fans adoring love songs, like “Hard Habit to Break” and “Hard to Say I’m Sorry.”
Chicago has scored American Music Awards for Best Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group, as well as Grammys for Best Pop Vocal Performance By a Duo, Group or Chorus. The band has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and is an honoree for the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Tickets to the Oct. 12 show at Riverfront Park start at $27 and are on sale now.
American Aquarium
Fourth Street’s Brooklyn Arts Center will be hosting Raleigh’s own American Aquarium this fall on Nov. 30. The band — consisting of BJ Barham, Shane Boeker, Rhett Huffman, Neil Jones, Ryan Van Fleet, and Alden Hedges — is touring in support of their new album “Lamentations.”
Produced by Shooter Jenkins, the work leans into country and Americana stylings and landed in the U.S.’s number 16 spot for top country albums in 2020. Lead singer Barham noted on the band’s website that his songwriting on the was inspired by Jeremiah’s book of Lamentations to reflect on modern-day America.
In May, American Aquarium dropped “Slappers, Bangers & Certified Twangers, Vol. 1.” It celebrates the band’s favorite ’90s country hits.
Tickets go on sale this Friday, July 23, at 10 a.m.
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