News release from the Embassy Theatre:
Embassy Theatre announces bands for Down the Line 10: Anniversary
(January 9, 2016) – The Embassy Theatre has selected 10 local bands and the legendary artists they will be covering for Down the Line 10: Anniversary on Feb. 26 and 27.
Here is the line-up for each night:
Friday, Feb. 26:
- Kenny Taylor – Elvis Costello & the Attractions
- Streetlamps for Spotlights – Alex Chilton & Big Star
- Big Caddy Daddy – AC/DC
- LAST CALL – Maze featuring Frankie Beverly
- B45’s – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Saturday, Feb. 27:
- The Legendary Trainhoppers – Bruce Springsteen
- Soft N’ Heavy – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
- Red Arrow – The Allman Brothers
- Lost Lakes – Blondie
- David Todoran & the Mobile Homewreckers – Neil Young
In 2006, the Embassy Theatre was looking for a way to spotlight local bands on the Embassy stage and the Down the Line concert idea was developed. After a year of planning, the first Down the Line debuted in 2007. Since then some 70 local bands have played as part of the Down the Line franchise. The10th anniversary show will feature two bands who performed in that very first Down the line, David Todoran & the Mobile Homewreckers and the Legendary Trainhoppers.
Down the Line 10: Anniversary will feature funk, classic rock, country, new age, alternative and more, jumping from music extreme to music extreme. From Elvis Costello to Bruce Springsteen, and AC/DC to Blondie, Down the Line 10 is sure to electrify audiences both nights.
Tickets are on sale now for Down the Line 10: Anniversary. A VIP ticket that provides advance seating to the general admission show is $20 each night. There is a two-day pass available for $25 and single tickets are $15 per night. The concerts begin at 7 p.m. each night.
Down the Line 10: Anniversary is sponsored by Sweetwater Sound and Lincoln Financial Group.
About the bands:
B45’s
The B45’s is a four-piece original rock and roll combo from the streets of Fort Wayne with strong ‘60s influences, three-part harmonies and a mighty beat. The B45’s consist of Fort Wayne Community Schools music students from North Side High School, South Side High School and Memorial Park Middle School. Ben Tarr (guitar and vocals), Colin Taylor (bass and vocals), Kellen Baker (lead guitar and vocals) and Sam Clay (drums) are the B45’s. They have written more than 30 songs and opened shows for Russian guitar hero Ana Popovich, Sweet Talk from Austin, Florida guitar slinger Selwyn Birchwood and DeFrance from Little Rock at shows at CS3, the Brass Rail, C2G and the Foellinger Theatre. They have one EP out at bandcamp.com.
Big Caddy Daddy
A coming together of local talent in 2008 spawned a lovechild called Big Caddy Daddy whose members include Todd Bishop, Meranda Garman, Doug Lude, Den Nelson and Gary Wright. Big Caddy Daddy is notorious for high-voltage fun and has become the premier party rock band in Northern Indiana, Northwestern Ohio and Southern Michigan. With a set list packed full of favorites, Big Caddy Daddy keeps the party rockin’ all night long! A select mix of classic rock, today’s rock, and new country brings people to the dance floor and others rockin’ out in their chairs. This is no ordinary bar band. This band is committed to supplying an action packed, full throttle music spectacle.
David Todoran & the Mobile Homewreckers
Long-time denizen of the Fort Wayne music scene singer-songwriter David Todoran, along with his band the Mobile Homewreckers (Kevin Jackson and Brad Kuhns), kicked off the first Down the Line in 2007 with a rousing and offbeat set of music by Johnny Cash. David’s multi-Whammy Award-winning discography includes Solstice (1998), Under My Skin (2000), Luck in This Life (2003) and True (2012). David recently performed the role of Bob Dylan in Fort Wayne productions of the touring show Such a Night: Recreating the Music of the Last Waltz and he is currently in his sixth year teaching American literature and composition at Canterbury High School
Kenny Taylor
This will be Kenny’s fourth appearance at the Embassy,as he opened for the Brian Setzer Orchestra and played in two previous Down the Line concerts: with the B-Sharps performing the Who and with David Todoran performing the Beatles. In 2013 Kenny was chosen to play lead guitar with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Wanda Jackson at a concert in Denver. In 2015 he sang lead and played guitar for Steve Farrone (drummer for Tom Petty and Eric Clapton) at Sweetwater Gearfest, played bass guitar for Henry Lee Summer, performed a solo acoustic original show opening for Huey Lewis and the News at the Foellinger Theatre and performed the role of Eric Clapton in The Last Waltz concert held at C2G. While touring both nationally and internationally with his rockabilly band, the Blue Moon Boys, Kenny has opened for such guitar legends as Bo Diddley, James Burton, Dick Dale, Link Wray, Brian Setzer and for bands like Cheap Trick, Gov’t Mule and The Ohio Players, to name a few. The Blue Moon Boys also performed two nights in Liverpool, England at the Cavern Club. Kenny is also a BMI-affiliated songwriter whose songs have been recorded by rockabilly greats Ronnie Dawson, Hillbilly Casino and Chris Shaffer.
LAST CALL
LAST CALL is a musical force of artist and musicians who provide that big band sound no matter what the musical genre. LAST CALL has been coined a performance “Band of Believers” with great energy, excellence and diversity in sound. The nickname “SuperBand” was given to these musicians because there isn’t a sound, a vibe, a song they cannot perform! Their amazing chemistry and stage presence draw listeners in and keep the crowd longing for more. The sound they produce has landed them on big stages with major national recording artists, along with thousands of adoring fans.
Lost Lakes
Lost Lakes is a fusion of synth pop and ‘80s teenage heartbreak without the puppy love. Christine Taylor (keys), Karah Ellington (bass), Andrea Atwood (vocals), John Cheesbrew (drums) and George Gardner (guitar) have been creating original songs since January of 2014. In the fall of 2015, Lost Lakes recorded an EP entitled Burn Out the Dark, the perfect mixtape for a gothic, beach-bum ex-lover. It is available on iTunes and Spotify.
Red Arrow
Red Arrow was formed in May 2014 in Albion, Ind., just south of Fort Wayne. Riley Demaree (lead vocals, guitar) and Jonah Leatherman (vocals, guitar, mandolin) had been playing together for years and finally found the right group of musicians and friends to form the band they always hoped they would. Alec Demaree, Riley’s brother, plays on keys and long-time friends Jake Bray and Alex Cole joined as well. Their sound has become an eclectic mix consisting of rock and roll, folk, Americana, southern rock and everything in between, all the while pushing their music into a new sound that is classic and also new and exciting. They released their first demo EP in 2014 and have now begun the recording process in Nashville, Tenn., for their first full length album which will further define the band’s sound.
Soft N’ Heavy
Soft N’ Heavy has been playing on stages in the Fort Wayne area for four years and doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. In the beginning, Soft N’ Heavy was a trio made up bassist Ben Tarr, drummer Bray Coughlin and guitarist Atticus Sorrell. Coughlin, Tarr and keyboardist Garrett Spoelhof were playing as part of a jazz quartet at the downtown branch of the library when they met Sorrell. Soft N’ Heavy released a six-track album in spring 2014 and plans to get back in the studio soon. The band has played at notable venues such as the Phoenix and Foellinger Theatre and headlined at Beatlefest and Zep Fest at the downtown library.
Streetlamps for Spotlights
Streetlamps for Spotlights Jason Davis (guitar and vocals), Jay Hackbush (bass) and Andy Sheets (drums) is a guitar-driven three-piece band that has been spreading melodic noise pop throughout the Midwest for several years. With a history of self-released 45rpm singles, a full-length album in 2014 and another full-length album due out in 2016, this band stays busy. When not holding down the proverbial day job, you can find them writing, rehearsing or recording at Off the Cuff Sound, an all-analog recording studio that Davis owns and operates.
The Legendary Trainhoppers
The Legendary Trainhoppers is an Americana band that was initially active from 2005 to 2007. The Legendary Trainhoppers played the album release show for their first album, Ramble On, in the Indiana Hotel Lobby and the bands’ final show was the first Down the Line, when The Legendary Trainhoppers performed the music of Bob Dylan. This is the only band to have covered Dylan in a Down the Line concert. In 2015, the band reconvened to write and record its second album, Family Tree, which will be released in February, 2016, 10 years after Ramble On. The Legendary Trainhoppers are multi-instrumentalists Chris Dodds, Dan Smyth, Phil Potts and Matt Kelley with Casey Stansifer on bass and Connor O’Shaughnessy on drums.
About the Embassy Theatre
Built in 1928, the historic Embassy Theatre features national productions from the Broadway stage, concerts of all musical formats, cinema, educational programming and a continued commitment to young people. For more information, visit www.fwembassytheatre.org.
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