They’re authors by profession—but once a year, they abandon their books for instruments and become rock stars, complete with roadies, groupies, and a tour bus. This summer, however, The Rock Bottom Remainders, the all-author rock band featuring Mitch Albom, Stephen King, Dave Barry, Amy Tan, and Matt Groening among its members, will hold their last public concert, after performing together for 20 years. This will be the first time the band has performed together since 2007. This show is part of the band’s final two-city Past Our Bedtime Tour in honor of former bandmate Kathi Goldmark who passed away after a courageous fight with cancer on May 24, 2012.
Confirmed for the concert are Stephen King, who hasn’t performed with the band since 2007, as well as Amy Tan (vocals & whip), Dave Barry (co-lead guitar), Matt Groening (cowbell), Mitch Albom (keyboards), Scott Turow (vocals), James McBride (sax), Greg Iles (co-lead guitar), Ridley Pearson (bass), Roy Blount, Jr. (the crowd), and Sam Barry (harmonica).
The concert for all ages will take place at the El Rey Theatre on Friday, June 22nd at 8:30 PM with a special guest appearance by Roger McGuinn, best-known as the lead singer and lead guitarist for The Byrds. Doors will open at 7:30 PM. Tickets range from $40 to $200 and go on sale Thursday, May 24th via TheElRey.com and Ticketmaster. $200 VIP tickets include pre-show reception and a “meet & greet” from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM. Proceeds will benefit literary causes.
The June 23rd concert in Anaheim is at the American Library Association conference and open to registered attendees only.
The historic El Rey Theatre is located in the preserved Art Deco Miracle Mile district at 5515 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 (323-936-6400). Valet, lot, and street parking are available. For more information on the Rock Bottom Remainders, please see www.rockbottomremainders.com .
I LOVE reminiscing about this show with Library colleagues. You guys were SUPERB! Did you know I wrote a review of it on a blog? Reply to this comment if interested, I can send you the link. Thanks for a great show, your time together with the Remainders, and of course for your writing!
Glad you made it out to the show, JB. Like Cher, Sinatra, and KISS, we’ve returned aa few times since then, and I imagine we will again whenever it’s for a good cause.