AUG 16 • 7:30PM
Tickets: $95, $75, $55, $30 | Limit 8 tickets per mailing address
DOORS 6:30PM • SHOWTIME 7:30PM
Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre • Basie Center Campus • 99 Monmouth Street, Red Bank
When America, the perennial classic-rock favorite, hit the road in 2023, they’ll celebrate their 53th Anniversary with their powerful performances. Founding members, Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell (along with former band mate, the late Dan Peek) met in high school in London in the late 1960s and quickly harmonized their way to the top of the charts on the strength of their signature song “A Horse With No Name.” America became a global household name and paved the way with an impressive string of hits following the success of their first #1 single. Forty plus years later, these friends are still making music together, touring the world and thrilling audiences with their timeless sound.
America’s journey has found them exploring a wide variety of musical terrain. Their best-known tunes, which also include “I Need You,” “Ventura Highway,” “Don’t Cross The River,” “Tin Man,” “Lonely People,” and “Sister Golden Hair” were cornerstones of 1970’s Top 40 and FM rock radio. Yet beyond their impressive catalog of hits, listeners would discover there was always much more to America than surface perceptions. The combination of Gerry Beckley’s melodic pop rock and Dewey Bunnell’s use of folk-jazz elements, slinky Latin-leaning rhythms and impressionistic lyric imagery contrasted well with Dan Peek’s more traditional country-rock leanings and highly personal lyrics.
America’s albums–six certified gold and/or platinum, with their first greatest hits collection, History, hitting four plus million in sales–displayed a fuller range of the trio’s talents than did their singles. Their material encompassed an ambitious artistic swath; from effects-laden rockers to oddball medleys to soul-bearing ballads, America displayed a flawless blend of disparate genres and styles as wide-open as the great American plains.
Presented by Count Basie Center for the Arts & SLP Concerts
Please note: At the direction of the CDC or local health authorities, the Count Basie Center may at any time institute policies pertaining to COVID-19 transmission, including but not limited to mask requirements. Certain artists and / or touring productions may also require patrons to be masked and / or present proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
Masks are not required to attend performances at Count Basie Center venues, though we welcome their use and respect all patrons who choose to continue doing so.