Toledo Zoo concerts kick off on May 14
3/16/2010They're back!
A trio of musical stalwarts - Earth, Wind & Fire, Weird Al Yankovic, and the Moody Blues - will return to the Toledo Zoo this summer as part of the Circle K Toledo Zoo Series. First, though, locals will have the chance to hear Barenaked Ladies kick things off with a May 14 concert.
The lineup, presented by Live Nation and announced yesterday, offers another opportunity for Toledoans to see some familiar faces. Earth, Wind & Fire and Yankovic performed at the zoo in 2008, and the Moody Blues were there a year earlier.
"All three shows were really successful there, and the bands really like the venue," explained Carrie Samek, marketing director for Live Nation in Cleveland. "It's a good fit for Toledo. ... Keep bringing back what works."
She added that more concerts as part of the series will be added in coming weeks.
This year's concert season begins with Barenaked Ladies and special guest Ingrid Michaelson. The folksy pop-rock group out of Canada is famous for its humor and hit singles like "One Week" and "If I Had $1,000,000." It has sold more than 14 million albums and is slated to release a new one, "All in Good Time," later this month.
The Toledo show begins at 7:30 p.m. May 14, and tickets are $37.50, $47.50, and $55. Every online ticket transaction will include a download of the new album.
Next comes Earth, Wind & Fire, which performs here June 1. One of the most popular funk bands of the '70s, the group manages to combine soul, rock, pop, African music, and even jazz. Known for its elaborate stage shows, Earth, Wind & Fire received its first Grammy in 1975 for the hit "Shining Star."
Tickets for the concert, which starts at 7:30 p.m., are $37.50 and $55.
Weird Al Yankovic, the most accomplished parodist in modern music, will take the stage on June 30. Over the years, the goofy-looking guy with the frizzy hair has made fun of everything from rap to rock in his songs and videos. He took Michael Jackson's "Beat It" and countered it with "Eat It"; in his hands, Green Day's smash "American Idiot" became "Canadian Idiot."
Yankovic's show starts at 8 p.m. with tickets selling for $29.50, $39.50, and $55.
Rounding out the concert series as announced so far will be the Moody Blues on July 2. Famous for such anthems as "Nights in White Satin" and "Tuesday Afternoon," this band got its start in England in the 1960s. What began as a rhythm-and-blues-based sound turned into a progressive rock style, and the result was a fusion with classical music on the album "Days of Future Passed."
The Moody Blues performance will be at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $42.50 and $59.50.
Tickets for all shows go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at Ticketmaster locations, by phone at 419-385-5721 or 800-745-3000, online at livenation.com, or the Toledo Zoo's main box office near the Anthony Wayne Trail entrance. Ticket sales and will-call move to the zoo box office at the Broadway Street entrance the night of any show at 6 p.m. There is a presale for zoo members. Information: toledozoo.org.
Contact Ryan E. Smith at:
ryansmith@theblade.com
or 419-724-6103.