George Thorogood & The Destroyers “The Baddest Show on Earth”
Sunday, February 16 at 7:00 PM EST
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On the evening of December 1st, 1973 at The University of Delaware’s Lane Hall, a guitarist, a drummer, and their rhythm guitarist set up on the small bandstand. Though the three-piece band had barely rehearsed, guitarist George Thorogood and drummer Jeff Simon had been bashing out covers of songs they loved – including ‘No Particular Place To Go’, ‘Madison Blues’ and ‘One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer’ – in suburban Wilmington basements since they were teens.
The Lane Hall audience was wary at first. “Then it was like somebody flipped a switch,” Simon recalls. “Everybody hit the dance floor all at once.” “We had the place rockin’,” Thorogood says. “From that very first show, Jeff and I knew we were onto something.” Five decades, 15 million albums and more than 8,000 performances later, few bands can still rock the house like George Thorogood & Destroyers. And for Thorogood, Simon, and long-time Destroyers Bill Blough, Jim Suhler and Buddy Leach, their Bad All Over The World – 50 Years of Rock Tour will be a celebration like no other. But when asked to pick a career highlight, maybe one night over the past half century that changed everything for George Thorogood & The Destroyers, he shakes his head, flashes a huge grin and heads off to soundcheck. “My highlight is when I step on that bandstand,” Thorogood says. “The promoters invited us, the fans came to hear us, and we’re ready to rock. Every night I play for people can be the biggest night of my life.”
Opening Act: Canyon Lights
Fronted by Tim Carman and Pat Faherty, formerly of GA-20, Canyon Lights are a blend of throwback rock n’ roll, swampy Americana, and heavy blues.
Friends and bandmates since 2018, Pat and Tim have racked up thousands of hours performing on stages all over the world. Their love of blues music fueled their explosive performances with GA-20, a three-time #1 charting blues band from Boston, MA.
In 2023, Pat and Tim began connecting over their mutual love of 70s rock n’ roll bands like Mountain, Thin Lizzy, and James Gang. Inspired by this era, Pat proposed the two work out some song ideas he had been playing with. At the same time, Tim revealed to Pat some personal lyrics he had held onto for years. The songwriting connection was instant and unique. Pat and Tim realized that this was a new venture, not strictly blues and not confined to any lane of creativity. The two flew to Denver in early 2024 to put these sounds on tape with friend Dylan Brown at the helm as engineer and co-producer. From this session, Canyon Lights was born.
“The songs on this album are among the most personal we’ve ever written and recorded. Spending 200 days a year on the road, struggling with separation and loss, the thrill and loneliness of living out of a suitcase… a lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into this album. We held nothing back and we can’t wait for you all to experience these stories with us…”
-Pat and Tim
After finishing the album, which featured bass guitar (played by Pat) on every track, the pair realized they needed a third member to cover the low end live. They reached out to friends in the music community for suggestions and one name kept turning up: Heather Gillis.
Pat and Tim flew to Nashville, TN to meet and jam with Heather, and the connection was instant. Gillis, a talented multi-instrumentalist, has extensive touring experience with artists like Butch Trucks and Lindsay Lou and also leads her own group called Wolf Twin. While in Nashville, the trio recorded a live version of their original song “Seventh Son,” which they released December 5, 2024.
Since then, things have moved fast for the trio. After the release of “Seventh Son,” they signed with Burning House Management and Madison House Booking Agency and booked a slew of national tour dates including a stretch of shows opening up for the legendary George Thorogood & The Destroyers.
The word is out on this new trio. And they’re only getting started…
Enjoy all of our upcoming performances on our new Byrider Stage!
