Editor’s note: On Saturday, June 11, Tanglewood announced the cancellation of this concert due to COVID. Ticketholders are encouraged to hold onto their tickets until further information is available about a rescheduled performance. Ticketholders will be contacted directly as soon as information is available.
LENOX — Ringo Starr is bringing his All-Starr band to Tanglewood Friday, June 17. They were scheduled to appear in the Shed last June but had to reschedule. Tickets for last year’s show are still valid for this year’s performance.
Not every “all-star” band is full of stars. Ringo’s is: Every member of his band has at one time or another participated in hit recordings — classics that are still getting airplay decades after their initial release. And what would be the point of taking the stage with an actual all-star band if none of the stars got to perform their own music? For example, why on earth would you engage Steve Lukather to play guitar in your band if you didn’t intend to put him in the spotlight performing one of the hits from his old band, Toto? (You can expect at least two from Lukather in this show.)
Starr understands the value (and fun) of sharing the spotlight with his entire lineup of hit-making musicians. So the players take turns fronting the band, and the result is a sort of greatest hits show with Ringo serving as master of ceremonies. Â
Here’s the lineup:
Warren Ham is best known as a member of Kansas, but he has had stints with Toto, David Gates, Cher, Donna Summer, and many others. He plays saxophone, and flute and sings lead and backing vocals. He released an album of his own songs, “Come on Children,” in 2000.
Edgar Winter had a number one hit in 1972 with the rock instrumental “Frankenstein,” which he plays in Ringo’s show, along with his other big ’70s hit, “Free Ride.”
Steve Lukather is best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. Expect to hear him lead the All-Starr band in “Rosanna” and Toto’s number one hit, “Africa.”
Bassist and guitarist Hamish Stuart was an original member of the Average White Band. He has played with Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, David Sanborn, and countless others, but most notably, bass for Paul McCartney. He has written songs for Atlantic Starr, Smokey Robinson, Jeffrey Osborne, George Benson, and Diana Ross. Plus, he has written and released at least one solo album.
You remember Colin Hay‘s distinctive vocal timbre on the international hit “Down Under” from the band Men at Work. You’ll hear that song and at least one other hit from Hay on the 17th. He released his 15th album, “Now and The Evermore,” in March.
Drummer Gregg Bissonette’s discography goes from 1982–2021 and includes dozens and dozens (and dozens) of recordings he played on with some of the world’s top jazz, pop, and rock artists. He goes way back with Steve Lukather: The two were in a band together called Los Lobotomys, which used to perform at The Baked Potato, a jazz club in L.A., and he played on Lukather’s 2021 album, “I Found the Sun Again.” But Bissonette’s big breakthrough came when he, guitarist Steve Vai, and bassist Billy Sheehan in 1985 joined David Lee Roth’s band, which recorded three Billboard 200 hit albums. Bissonette released his third solo album, “Warning Will Robinson,” in 2013.
Tickets for Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band at Tanglewood on June 17 are available here.
