Tesla, August 13

Sunday, August 13, 8 p.m.

Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center, 7077 Elmore Avenue, Davenport IA

With their repertoire of nearly four decades including such top-10 Billboard smashes as "Love Song," "Signs," "What You Give," and "Mama's Fool," the soulful hard-rock and glam-metal musicians of Tesla headline an August 13 concert at Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center, the five-piece outfit continuing to tour with founders Brian Wheat on bass, keyboards, and piano, and Frank Hannon on guitar, keyboards, piano, organ, theremin, bass, mandolin, and harmonica.

In late 1981, Wheat and Hannon formed a band named City Kidd, and by 1984, vocalist Jeff Keith, guitarist Tommy Skeoch, and drummer Troy Luccketta had joined the ensemble, forming their classic lineup that appeared on all of the albums and live shows during their initial run. The band adopted the Tesla moniker shortly before recording their first album, as another band with a name similar to City Kidd already existed. Their debut album, Mechanical Resonance, was released in 1986 and produced two hit singles, "Modern Day Cowboy" and their cover of "Little Suzi" (originally by Ph.D.), while second album The Great Radio Controversy, which debuted in 1989, peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200 album chart and produced the top-10 single "Love Song."
During the height of the popularity of MTV Unplugged, Tesla recorded and released their third album, the live acoustic recording Five Man Acoustical Jam in 1990. The album peaked at number 12 on the Billboard 200 and produced their top-charting single "Signs" (which ranked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100), the cover of a song originally performed by the Five Man Electrical Band. Their follow-up fourth album, 1991's Psychotic Supper, peaked at number 13, while 1994's Bust a Nut also landed on the Billboard top 20. The band broke up in 1996, but returned in 2000 with a live tour and album, both named Replugged.

Over the two decades since, Tesla has continued to record and tour with original members Wheat, Hannon, and Keith, though Skeoch left in 2006 and was replaced by Dave Rude on guitar, and Steve Brown now serves as drummer and keyboardist. Their most recent release is the single "Time to Rock!", released in June of 2022, and to date, Tesla has sold at least 14 million albums in the United States. The group is currently ranked at number 22 on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hair Metal."

Tesla headlines their Event Center engagement on August 13, admission to the 8 p.m. Concert is $45-85, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)328-8000 and visiting RhythmCityCasino.com.