Kenny Loggins w/ Special Guest Firefall

Gates opens at 6:00 pm. No Beverages will be permitted on the grounds. All coolers/bags will be searched at entry gates to the Fairgrounds. All beverages confiscated will be disposed of and not subject to return. For a view of the seating map for the show, please click here.



Kenny Loggins has been many things to many people over the past three decades -- “a moving target” as he’s put it. In his time, Loggins has been a guitar-slinger with a psychedelic rock band, a hot young songwriter with a publishing deal, half of a legendary country-rock duo, a massively successful and accomplished solo artist, a sonic pioneer in the smooth jazz genre, a reigning soundtrack superstar, a rocker, a seeker, as well as an enduring recording artist and live performer whose most recent works have spoken deeply to both young audiences and decidedly adult and worldly concerns. At the heart of it all, there remains a brilliant singer-songwriter and guitarist with a lifelong passion for exploring the endless power of the song to communicate.

By any standard, Loggins’ commercial impact has been extraordinary; twelve of his albums have gone platinum and beyond. In a world of one hit wonders and fifteen minute sensations, Loggins has enjoyed hit songs in four straight decades -- a remarkable testament to his exceptional craftsmanship and stamina. Yet the true measure of this man cannot be weighed in platinum and gold. Through it all, Kenny Loggins has earned the faith of those who’ve followed him along the way. To this day, Loggins continues to write and record at the height of his powers as a singer and a songwriter. This is something that Loggins proves every time he takes the stage to sing his soulful songs straight from the heart.

Kenny Loggins was born in Everett, Washington, and moved to the Los Angeles area as a young boy. After a short and, in retrospect, rather surprising stint as a guitarist for The Electric Prunes, Loggins scored a job as a $100-a-week staff songwriter and penned four songs on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s 1970 album Uncle Charlie and His Dog Teddy, among them the classic "House at Pooh Corner." Around this same time, Loggins caught the attention of former Buffalo Springfield producer and Poco member Jim Messina, then working as staff producer at CBS. Originally, Loggins set out to record his solo debut with Messina behind the boards as his producer. As work progressed, Messina’s involvement increased and the album subsequently emerged in 1972 as Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina Sittin’ In – a gem that featured Loggins’ future standards “Danny’s Song” and “House At Pooh Corner” and quickly established this accidental duo as one of significant recording and touring acts of the 70s.

When Loggins & Messina split up in 1976, Loggins wasted no time in achieving solo stardom with such million-selling solo albums as Celebrate Me Home, Nightwatch (which included the hit "Whenever I Call You Friend" with Stevie Nicks), Keep The Fire (“This Is It,”) and 1982’s High Adventure (“Don’t Fight It” with Steve Perry and “Heart To Heart”). These albums saw Loggins expanding his musical range, impressively exploring new textures of jazz, rock and pop with ambitious production. Loggins’ reputation as one of music’s outstanding vocalists was becoming well established, and in 1980 he won the Best Male Pop Vocal Grammy for “This Is It.” As a songwriter too, Loggins continued to grow, a fact evidenced by his many inspired collaborations such as co-writing the 1979 Grammy-winning Song of The Year “What A Fool Believes” with his long-time friend Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers.

In the 80s, Loggins became more famous than ever as the king of the movie theme songs, thanks to massive smashes like "I'm Alright" (from Caddyshack), "Footloose" (from Footloose), "Danger Zone" (from Top Gun), and "Nobody's Fool" (from Caddyshack II). Loggins also continued to record albums that were introspective and deeply personal, including 1985’s Vox Humana, 1988’s Back to Avalon, 1991’s Leap of Faith (featuring “Conviction of the Heart,” a song Al Gore called “the unofficial anthem of the environmental movement”), The Unimaginable Life (1997) and 2003’s It’s About Time. During this same period, Loggins continued to take on new challenges like recording a Christmas album (1998’s December) and two successful and acclaimed CDs for children: 1994’s radiant Return To Pooh Corner and its worthy follow-up, More Songs From Pooh Corner.

In 2005, Kenny Loggins reunited with his former partner, Jim Messina, to great surprise and considerable acclaim. As much personally as musically, the Sittin’ In Again tour allowed Loggins to rediscover an old friendship. It was so successful and inspiring that they took their show on the road once again in 2009.

Loggins finds himself doing again what he has always done -- writing and playing his songs, digging deep and looking toward the next step. Loggins is looking toward the release of his upcoming family album entitled All Join In in 2010.

FIREFALL BIO

The genealogy and musical roots of FIREFALL run deep into the fertile soil of American rock and folk rock music. It began with Woodie Guthrie and later Bob Dylan, evolving into the Byrds and the Buffalo Springfield. The genre established by these luminaries continued with Crosby, Stills and Nash, Manassas, the Band, Neil Young, the Eagles, Poco, Loggins and Messina, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Gram Parsons and Emmy Lou Harris, Dan Folgelberg, America and Firefall. Many of these participants mingled in the studio and on tour. Individually and collectively they created a sound that changed the world’s musical landscape. FIREFALL is one of the few surviving bands of this genre, remaining true to its founding vision and roots despite personnel changes over its thirty-year history. The band transcends and embraces many industry labels - rock, soft rock, country rock, easy listening, unplugged, Americana and contemporary country.

“I think it’s great that in this day and age of trends that change overnight, a kind of music we helped create thirty years ago is still around and growing in popularity.” - JOCK BARTLEY

For co-founder Jock Bartley, FIREFALL has not only represented an opportunity to make quality music over the course of 30 years, but also represents a personal, heartfelt commitment to maintaining the tradition of a contemporary musical genre he and his peers helped create. Shared the past twenty years with band members Steven Weinmeister (vocals, guitar), Sandy Ficca (drums), Bil Hopkins (vocals, bass) and Chris Ball (sax, flute and keyboards), this commitment has successfully carried FIREFALL through three decades of distinctive music.

From 1976 through the early 1980s, the Boulder, Colorado-based rock band, FIREFALL, saturated the national radio waves and toured the world over, selling millions of records and earning two platinum and three gold albums for their efforts. They shared stages with the top bands of the day - Fleetwood Mac, The Doobie Brothers, The Band, Lynard Skynard, Marshall Tucker Band, Chicago, The Beach Boys, Loggins & Messina, America, Bob Seger, Heart and many many others. The band dazzled audiences with their exuberant and rocking performances - this was no ‘light rock’ band. FIREFALL is a group of exceptional musicians and singers, with a repertoire of radio recognizable songs few bands can match. Their many hits - “You Are The Woman,” “Just Remember I Love You,” “Strange Way,” “Cinderella,” “Mexico,” “Livin Aint Livin,” “So Long,” “Goodbye, I Love You,” “Sweet and Sour” and others - are faithfully recreated with a freshness rare in live performances of such classics.

In the 1990s, Rhino Records began releasing their original albums on CD, including the compilation, FIREFALL’S GREATEST HITS. With lead guitarist, singer and songwriter, Jock Bartley, as a constant, these classic albums boast such musical stand-outs as band members: Rick Roberts, Mark Andes, Michael Clarke, Larry Burnett, David Muse and John Sambataro; with guest appearances on Firefall records by greats like Stephen Stills, Richie Furay, David Sanborn, Timothy B. Schmidt (Eagles) and Bill Payne (Little Feat).

With FIREFALL’S 1994 CD release, ‘MESSENGER,’ the band continued to expand upon their distinctive sound. It is filled with passionate lyrical incisiveness, a great melodic range and diversity, and sociopolitical musings. “When The River Rises” was written for and dedicated to the 1993 Midwest Flood Victims, with a portion of the proceeds from this song having gone to disaster relief. Jock Bartley’s uplifting song of 1998, ‘Call On Me,’ became an anthem of sorts for Suicide Prevention. As a spokesman for the cause and the first-ever national crisis hotline network, 1(800) SUICIDE, he helped to put on three fund raising benefits around the country featuring such musical luminaries as Michael McDonald, Wynonna Judd, Journey, Steve Winwood, David Pack of Ambrosia and Rusty Young of Poco. ‘Call On Me’ is included on Jock’s first ever solo CD, ‘BLINDSIDE,’ released in late 2006.

Throughout the years, FIREFALL has nurtured their faithful and growing audience through their dynamic live concert performances, which have continually brought in new generations of fans. The “experience” of FIREFALL’s live concerts leaves their fans, old and new, thinking that they’ve just seen one of the best concerts they’ve ever seen.

With the wealth of old songs and new, FIREFALL demonstrates the depth and diversity of the band’s lyrical and musical excellence, often including an acoustic or ”unplugged” mini-set in their longer performances. Their tight harmonies and intricate vocal arrangements are a fresh reminder of what melodic music is all about. The excellence of musicianship is intensely felt and appreciated by audiences - the response to the solos and many extended “jams” in concert is overwhelming, infectious helpings of fun and spontaneity in the highest degree.

FIREFALL was one of the first bands to bring the creativity and musical richness of the Rocky Mountain area to the forefront of the industry. The resurgence of this diverse musical hotbed has since given way to the likes of Big Head Todd and the Monsters, The Samples, The String Cheese Incident... and once again, FIREFALL.

And so, the band has come full circle. In thirty years of making exceptional music, FIREFALL has distinguished themselves as one of the top bands from the genre of music called Americana. They helped spearhead the birth and continuation of the country-rock/folk-rock sound of the Seventies. FIREFALL is as vital and valid as ever, standing out as one of the few remaining torchbearers for harmony-laden rock; a welcome blast from the past focused firmly on the future.

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FIREFALL DISCOGRAPHY
FIREFALL (on disc 1976 ATLANTIC RECORDS / on CD, 1993 RHINO RECORDS)
LUNA SEA (on disc 1977 ATLANTIC RECORDS / on CD, 1995 RHINO RECORDS with four previously unreleased bonus selections)
ELAN (on disc 1978 ATLANTIC RECORDS / on CD, 1995 RHINO RECORDS with three previously unreleased bonus selections)
UNDERTOW (on disc 1979 ATLANTIC RECORDS / on CD, 1995 RHINO RECORDS with three previously unreleased bonus selections)
CLOUDS ACROSS THE SUN (on disc 1980 ATLANTIC RECORDS)
THE BEST OF FIREFALL (on disc 1981 ATLANTIC RECORDS)
BREAK OF DAWN (on disc 1983 ATLANTIC RECORDS)
MIRROR OF THE WORLD (on disc 1984 ATLANTIC RECORDS)
FIREFALL’S GREATEST HITS (on CD and cassette, 1992 RHINO RECORDS)
FIREFALL - YOU ARE THE WOMAN (on CD, 1993 RHINO RECORDS)
MESSENGER (on CD and cassette, 1994 REDSTONE RECORDS, re-released in 2000 on TKO MAGNUM RECORDS)
FIREFALL - YOU ARE THE WOMAN and other Hits - (on CD, 1997 FLASHBACK/RHINO RECORDS)
THE ESSENTIALS: FIREFALL (on CD, 2002 ATLANTIC RECORDS)

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FIREFALL’S three most successful singles were certified by BMI to have earned:
“YOU ARE THE WOMAN” -- 2 million radio air plays
“JUST REMEMBER I LOVE YOU” -- 2 million radio air-plays
“STRANGE WAY” -- 1 million radio air-plays