For a PDF version of the press release, click here.
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Rock out with guitar virtuoso @ChickenfootJoe on the G3 2018 Tour at the @KimmelCenter 2/17. More info @ KimmelCenter.org
Press Contact:
Monica Robinson Rachel Goldman
215-790-5847 267-765-3712
mrobinson@kimmelcenter.org rgoldman@alliedim.com
JOE SATRIANI, DREAM THEATER’S JOHN PETRUCCI, AND DEF LEPPARD’S PHIL COLLEN BRING GUITAR TRIO “G3” TO THE KIMMEL CENTER CULTURAL CAMPUS FEBRUARY 17, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Philadelphia, PA, December 18, 2017) – Guitar superstar Joe Satriani will rock the stage of the Kimmel Center’s Merriam Theater on Saturday, February 17, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. during his massively popular G3 Tour, presented in association with BRE Presents. Satriani will be joined by fellow six-string legends John Petrucci of Dream Theater and Phil Collen of Def Leppard.
“We welcome guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani and his latest embodiment of super group G3 for this unique performance,” said Anne Ewers, President and CEO of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. “The G3 experience, now over 20 years old and boasting iconic headliners, is a global phenomenon – the perfect addition to our rock lineup this season.”
Joe Satrianiis the world’s most commercially successful solo guitar performer, with six gold and platinum discs to his credit (including one more gold award for the debut album by his band Chickenfoot), and sales in excess of 10 million copies. His 15th studio album, Shockwave Supernova, is already being hailed as yet another creative breakthrough – this for a guitarist who has routinely topped guitar magazine polls since the release of his first full-length album, Not Of This Earth, in 1986. In 1996, Satriani founded the G3, a concert tour intended to feature a trio of guitarists.
John Petrucci has a long history with G3 – the Dream Theater founder and guitar virtuoso made his maiden voyage on the tour in 2001, and the 2018 trek will mark his seventh appearance on the bill. 2018 will see Phil Collen making his debut as a G3er. The venerable guitarist joined Def Leppard in 1982 and has been a key part of their worldwide multi-platinum success story, but he’s rarely stepped out as a solo axeman in his own right.
Since its debut in 1996, Satriani’s G3 tour has featured the world’s greatest guitarists (everyone from Steve Vai and Eric Johnson to Steve Lukather and Robert Fripp) and has become a consistent concert hall sell-out attraction in the U.S., South America, Europe, Australia, and Japan. Satriani had a hunch that an action-packed night of guitar wizardry could be a touring behemoth back in 1995 when he initially hatched the plan to hit the road with some of his six-string comrades. At first, he envisioned something along the lines of Lollapalooza with a lineup featuring a dozen or more guitarists. Then he seized upon a concept much like the Three Tenors, but one that would pool the unique talents of three guitarists. “So there it was: Three guitarists – G3,” he says. “That idea felt really right to me. It was streamlined and easy to understand, and I knew I could still offer people a night of unique talents.”
The first G3 tour of 1996 was a smash, and Satriani knew that he had a juggernaut on his hands. So did promoters, who begged for a return. For the next run a year later, Satriani again teamed with Vai, but he added two wildcards – modern blues star Kenny Wayne Shepherd and progressive-rock icon Robert Fripp. After 1997, Satriani began to take G3 wide – hitting Europe twice with lineups that included the likes of Adrian Legg, Michael Schenker, and Uli Jon Roth; storming South America with Vai and Fripp; Japan with Vai, Petrucci, and an unbilled Marty Friedman (the former Megadeth guitarist is a superstar in that country); and even New Zealand with Steve Lukather going up against the mighty Satriani and Vai. By now, G3 was an established concert draw, selling out seats as fast as tickets went on sale, no matter what region of the globe the tour hit.
For Satriani, one of the most rewarding aspects to G3 is how it helps expose certain guitarists to new and different audiences. He makes it a point that each bill offers a wide variety of styles and talents.
Other featured upcoming performances on the Kimmel Center Cultural Campus include: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds (February 13, 2018, Merriam Theater), Gobsmacked! (February 16, 2018, Merriam Theater), Brit Floyd: Eclipse World Tour 2018 (April 6, 2018, Academy of Music), John Prine (April 14, 2018, Merriam Theater), and Brandi Carlile (May 18, 2018, Merriam Theater).
G3 2018
Merriam Theater
February 17, 2018, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets
Tickets are on sale now and start at $49.50. Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center Box Office. Group sales are available for groups of 10 or more and can be purchased by calling 215-790-5883. See kimmelcenter.org for more information.
BRE Presents
BRE Presents is a full service live entertainment company that provides a complete array of concert promotion services for touring artists, including booking, producing and presenting concerts and live events primarily in the Northeastern U.S. Operated and staffed by entertainment industry veterans with over 100 years of experience in the music and live events business, BRE PRESENTS is based in Haddonfield, NJ, USA.
The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Located in the heart of Center City, Philadelphia, the Kimmel Center’s mission is to operate a world-class performing arts center that engages and serves a broad audience through diverse programming, arts education, and community outreach. The Kimmel Center Campus is comprised of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, SEI Innovation Studio, and the Merck Arts Education Center), the Academy of Music (owned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association), and the Merriam Theater. The Kimmel Center is also home to eight Resident Companies: The Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Philadelphia, The Pennsylvania Ballet, The Philly POPS, PHILADANCO, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and Curtis Institute of Music. With nearly 9,000 seats per night, The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts is the region’s most impactful performing arts center, and the second largest in the country. TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank, is the season sponsor of the Kimmel Center’s 2017-2018 Season. American Airlines is the official airline of Broadway Philadelphia. For additional information, visit www.kimmelcenter.org.
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For a PDF version of the press release, click here.