READINGTON TWP. – George Thorogood and the Destroyers will bring their Rock Party Tour 2017 to the 35th annual QuickChek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning on July 28.

George Thorogood

Thorogood will perform on the festival’s opening day at 8 p.m. following the first scheduled mass hot air balloon ascension. Fireworks follow the concert, according to a news release.  

Tickets for the concert are on sale now at www.balloonfestival.com.

“We play for a different audience every night, and that keeps it fresh,” said Thorogood. “There are people who’ve never seen us before, and we have to impress them. There are fans that keep coming back, and we want to surprise them. This is my job. I’ve always loved it, and I love it now more than ever.”

The band is donating $1 from each ticket sale will be going to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Formed in Delaware, the band has amassed a catalog of hits that includes “Who Do You Love,” “I Drink Alone,” “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer,” “Move It On Over,” “Get A Haircut,” and the anthemic, “Bad To The Bone.”

The band has released 16 studio albums – including six Gold and two Platinum discs on Rounder, EMI and Capitol. The band includes Jeff Simon (drums, percussion), Bill Blough (bass guitar), Jim Suhler (rhythm guitar) and Buddy Leach (saxophone).

“We call Friday ‘Balloons, Tunes and Booms’ in reference to our mass balloon ascension, concert and fireworks. George can rock the tunes and booms all by himself,” said Festival Executive Producer Howard Freeman. “We’re excited to have him headline Opening Day and we’re also very pleased to help him do well by doing good in supporting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.”

Also on July 28, Laurie Berkner will headline the festival’s first concert for children. The Princeton native will perform at 1:30 p.m.

Laurie Berkner 

“We feel this is also a great opportunity for summer camps throughout the region to offer kids an entirely new and different experience,” added Freeman.

Berkner was the first recording artist to perform in music videos on Nick Jr. and appeared regularly on the network’s Jack’s Big Music Show, the second-highest rated original program on Noggin. Her music has been featured in the short-form animated series Sing It, Laurie! on the 24-hour preschool television channel Sprout, and she has been a frequent guest on Sprout’s Sunny Side Up morning show.

“I want to create songs for children,” said Berkner, who notes she finds inspiration in her audience. “I was singing once and saw a four-year-old girl shut her eyes and start swaying to the music. I thought, ‘That’s the reason I got into music.’ It keeps me wanting to do more.”

The annual three-day festival, also sponsored by PNC Bank, is being held July 28-30 at Solberg Airport. The Festival features twice a day mass ascensions of 100 sport and special shaped hot air balloons from around the world, a live concert series, fireworks, a nighttime hot air balloon glow, children’s amusement rides and family entertainment and attractions.

 

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