Sunday, August 26, 7 p.m.
TaxSlayer Center, 1201 River Drive, Moline IL
One of the most iconic and lauded bands in American history makes an eagerly awaited appearance at the TaxSlayer Center on August 26, with the Moline venue presenting an evening with the Beach Boys, the beloved surf-rock and pop musicians performing locally on their nationwide 50th Anniversary Tour in support of their latest album That’s Why God Made the Radio.
Formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961, the Beach Boys' original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson; their cousin Mike Love; and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by their vocal harmonies and early surf songs, the band drew on the music of jazz-based vocal groups, 1950s rock 'n' roll, and R&B to create their unique sound, and with Brian as the group's de facto leader, they often incorporated classical elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways. In 1963 and 1964, they gained national prominence with a string of top-10 hits including “Surfin' U.S.A.,” “Be True to Your School,” “Surfer Girl,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” and the chart-topper “I Get Around,” and in 1966, the Pet Sounds album and its single “Good Vibrations” raised the Beach Boys' prestige as rock innovators, helping to establish the band as symbols of the counterculture era.
One of the most critically acclaimed, commercially successful, and widely influential bands of all time, the Beach Boys have had more than 80 songs chart worldwide, 36 of them U.S. Top 40 hits (the most of any American rock band), and four of them reaching number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The group has sold in excess of 100 million records worldwide, making them one of the world's all-time best-selling bands, and they were listed at No. 12 on Rolling Stone's 2004 list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time.” In 2017, a study of AllMusic.com's catalog indicated the Beach Boys as the sixth most frequently cited artist influence in its database, and the core quintet of the three Wilsons, Love, and Jardine was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.
The Beach Boys' 7 p.m. concert on August 26 will be preceded by opening sets with The Boat Drunks, the nationally touring Jimmy Buffett tribute band, and special guest John Stamos, the beloved star of Full House and Netflix reboot Fuller House whose Broadway credits include Cabaret, Nine, and How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying. Admission is $39.50-69.50, and tickets are available by calling (800)745-3000 or visiting TaxSlayerCenter.com.
