Ring In a New Year of Entertainment in the Island Showroom!

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The New Year is upon us and it’s bringing with it a brand new lineup to the Island Showroom!
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MJ Live
January 13^th & 14^thTickets $33
Featuring Jalles Franca as Michael Jackson, MJ LIVE is the number one Michael Jackson tribute show in the world showcasing the energy, excitement, spectacle and pure joy of this legendary superstar and his music.

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Dwight Yoakam
January 27^th & 28^thTickets $40
Swimmin’ Pools, Movie Stars…
The grass isn’t always greener on the other side, or bluer in this case, which may be why Dwight Yoakam hadn’t thought of doing a bluegrass album over the years. It was always already implicit in his music, from “Miner’s Prayer” on his first album 30 years ago to his one-off collaborations with Ralph Stanley and Earl Scruggs. If you listened hard, you could even hear that strain of mountain music in the melodies and harmonic sense of his most rocked-out country hits. He wasn’t consciously thinking through the years that he could bust out the mandolins to confirm his Kentucky bona fides – “Melodically, it’s just part of my nature,” Yoakam says, “part of the birthright, I guess, in my DNA.”
Yet here he is, releasing Swimmin’ Pools, Movie Stars… in the same year that he is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.. Swimmin’ Pools, Movie Stars… harks back to that landmark debut in its obviously cheeky title, while otherwise looking even farther back by recasting some of Yoakam’s most classic songs in a style that not only predates cowpunk but antecedes his beloved Bakersfield sound.
VIP Packages for Dwight Yoakam’s performances in the Island Showroom were available for $140 and included:

One (1) ticket to the show.
One (1) signed item (provided by the artist – no personal items please).
Meet & Greet photo (photographer provided – no personal cameras please).
Two (2) Dwight Yoakam signature guitar picks.

Those purchasing VIP Packages will be contacted by an artist representative via email approximately 24 hours prior to the show with further details regarding the VIP Meet & greet Experience.

Cheap Trick
February 10^th & 11^th
Tickets $40
Cheap Trick is part of the very fiber of American music, inspiring and delighting generations with their unique union of massive melodies and razorblade riffs, their own special brand of mischievous wit and maximum rock ‘n’ roll. Frontlined since 1974 by Robin Zander (vocals, rhythm guitar), Rick Nielsen (lead guitar), and Tom Petersson (bass guitar), the Rockford, IL-born band is set to impact still another era with the spectacular new BANG ZOOM CRAZY…HELLO, their 17th studio collection and first in more than five years. Co-produced by Cheap Trick and GRAMMY® Award winner Julian Raymond (Glen Campbell, Fastball), songs like “Heart On The Line” and the turbulent first single, “When I Wake Up Tomorrow,” are deeply connected to the band’s own irrepressible history just as they accelerate their trademark sound and vision into the now. The glorious “Long Time No See Ya” marks another in a long line of salutations spanning “ELO Kiddies” and “Hello There” to “Goodnight” and “Say Goodbye,” while the piledriving “Do You Believe Me” showcases dueling solos from Nielsen and six-string icon Wayne Kramer – a milestone meeting of the long established Midwestern mutual appreciation society between Cheap Trick and the mighty MC5. BANG ZOOM CRAZY…HELLO prove Cheap Trick to be as energetic and idiosyncratically irresistible as ever before, a callback to their classic canon yet somehow as inventive and exciting as a bunch of crazy kids just coming out of the garage.
VIP Packages for Cheap Trick’s performances in the Island Showroom are available for $250 and include:

One reserved ticket located in the first 5 rows.
Exclusive meet & greet with Cheap Trick.
Personal photograph with Cheap Trick.
Specially designed tour shirt (exclusive to VIP packages only).
Collectible tour poster (numbered, limited print).
Exclusive Cheap Trick merchandise item.
Official meet & greet laminate.

Martina McBride
February 17^th & 18^thTickets $45
Contemporary country singer Martina McBride rose to stardom in the late ’90s, starting out with a more traditionalist approach and later moving into pop-friendlier territory. She was born Martina Mariea Schiff in Medicine Lodge, KS, in 1966 and discovered country music through her father, who led a local band called the Schifters. By her teen years, she was singing and playing keyboards with the Schifters, and after high school she gigged around Kansas with several different bands. She married soundman John McBride, and in 1990 the couple moved to Nashville, where John worked for artists like Charlie Daniels and Ricky Van Shelton; Martina, meanwhile, worked as a demo singer, and her husband produced her demo tape, which got her signed to RCA in 1991. Around the same time, John was hired as Garth Brooks’ production manager, which helped land Martina an opening slot on tour with Brooks. Her debut album, The Time Has Come, was released in 1992, offering a set of songs indebted to traditional honky tonk and progressive-minded country-folk. The pop-inflected 1993 follow-up, The Way That I Am, was her commercial breakthrough, with the lead single “My Baby Loves Me” zooming up the country charts to the number two position. The affecting story-song “Independence Day” became something of a signature number, and another single, “Life #9,” also reached the Top Ten.
McBride’s 1995 follow-up, Wild Angels, gave her a second Top Five hit in “Safe in the Arms of Love,” and its title track became her first-ever number one single. 1997’s Evolution became her first Top Ten country album, and the Jim Brickman duet “Valentine” not only went Top Ten, but crossed over to become her first big hit on the adult contemporary charts. Evolution went on to spawn two number two hits (“Happy Girl” and “Whatever You Say”) and two number one hits (“A Broken Wing” and “Wrong Again”), and sold over two million copies, launching McBride into the top rank of country stardom. She issued a Christmas album in late 1998 and returned with a proper follow-up, Emotion, in 1999. Its lead single, “I Love You,” hit number one country and also crossed over to adult contemporary radio, and the follow-ups “Love’s the Only House,” “There You Are,” and “It’s My Time” were all successful as well (the first two also reached the Top Ten). 2001’s Greatest Hits compilation was the first McBride album to top the country charts, and sold well enough to make the pop Top Five as well. It contained four new tracks, all of which were eventually released as singles; “Blessed” hit number one, and “When God-Fearin’ Women Get the Blues” and “Where Would You Be” both reached the Top Ten. Martina from 2003 celebrated womanhood, while Timeless from 2005 was a collection of country classics; both became Top Ten album hits, the latter reaching number three. Waking Up Laughing appeared in 2007 from RCA Records.

Craig Morgan
March 10^th & 11^thTickets $33
Saying there is a “whole lot more” to Craig Morgan is an understatement. The multi-faceted Renaissance man proves it on his upcoming new studio album, aptly titled A Whole Lot More To Me, a record that furthers Morgan’s reputation as one of the genre’s most commanding vocalists.
While his singing on such hits as the multi-week Number One “That’s What I Love About Sunday,” “International Harvester,” “Bonfire,” “This Ole Boy” and “Wake Up Lovin’ You” was exemplary, Morgan has somehow found a new level and vocal range in the studio. On his forthcoming LP, his third with label home Black River Entertainment, he’s making the most relevant, authentic and moving music of his career. It’s a point that “When I’m Gone” drives home, as Morgan sings about living life with no regrets.
“I’ve got a renewed energy with this record,” he says emphatically. “In fact, I’m at the pinnacle of my career — producing, singing and touring. And this song epitomizes that. It’s about living to the fullest, and when people hear it, I know they’ll relate it to their own lives.”
His newest single, “I’ll Be Home Soon,” is an epic love song and one of many radio-ready hits on Morgan’s highly anticipated project. He’s written nearly half of the album’s dozen tracks, and makes all of them his own. “I’m That Country” exudes Southern charm; “Remind Me Why I’m Crazy” showcases Morgan the crooner; “I Can’t Wait to Stay” exults the joys of a small-town life; and “A Whole Lot More to Me” is a musical autobiography. The collection’s “When I’m Gone,” has already met critical acclaim with Music Row calling it a “powerhouse performance of a pile-driving song.” Each highlights his artistic renaissance.

Styx
March 31^st & April 1^st
Tickets $40
Harmony. Chemistry. Balance. Grit. Dexterity. Determination. Solidarity. Terms that describe a Super Bowl champion? Well, almost. These are words that define the core essence of Styx, the multi mega million-selling rock band that has forged an indelible legacy both on record and onstage.
The six men comprising Styx have committed to rocking the Paradise together with audiences far and wide by entering their second decade of averaging over 100 shows a year, and each one of them is committed to making the next show better than the last. “Every night, we go on that magic carpet ride together,” observes original bassist Chuck Panozzo, who joins the band on tour as often as he can. “The thing I always like the most is the immediate response we get when playing live,” adds guitarist and vocalist James “JY” Young, an integral force of nature in the band since its 1972 inception and the one who helped steer the band to landing its first recording contract with Wooden Nickel Records. “And this is as good a live band as there is. Someone once told me, ‘I’ve seen Paul McCartney, I’ve seen the Rolling Stones, I’ve seen U2, I’ve seen the Police. But my favorite show last year was Styx.’ I like to say we’re the best-kept secret — but perhaps we’re not anymore.” Notes guitarist, vocalist, and emotional centerpiece Tommy Shaw, “There are so many portals to reach your musical soul, and our live show is like a religious experience where people come to commune and testify. We have a pretty sophisticated audience, and we really respect that. We didn’t used to have people who would come see every show, but now they’re coming back again and again for more. And we owe it to our fans to continually rehearse, prepare, and improve.”
Among the key reasons fans repeatedly return to bask in the live Styx experience is the special energy apparent in each performance. “Something feels fresh with these guys every time I walk out onstage with them,” admits vocalist and keyboard shaman Lawrence Gowan. “It’s not lost on anyone that we’re pretty fortunate to be doing this. I look across the stage and I’m as entertained as much as the audience is as to how strong the band is. There’s not the slightest sliver of doubt that we’re all going to leave everything we can onstage every night.”
Agrees drummer and percussive dynamo Todd Sucherman, “This is a band that never has a bad show. I think our level of professionalism, musicianship, and spirit carries that across every night. The fact that we have so much fun when we’re playing — that’s very contagious. That’s a miraculous feat in and of itself. We never walk off the stage thinking, ‘What happened?’ ” A Styx show’s depth of impact is no accident, explains Ricky Phillips, bassist, background vocalist, and backbone of the backline: “There’s a lot going on up there. It’s a multilayered, multilevel show with a number of elements going on beyond the music itself. I find a symmetry with the give and take and all of the different emotions we touch upon. As many people as I’ve had the privilege to play with, I’ve never had the pleasure of being part of a situation like this one.” And that’s the crux of the unique rock and roll feeling Styx shares with its fans show in and show out.
2 VIP Packages for Styx’s performances in the Island Showroom are available and are as follows:
Styx – Front Row Package $200