Third week out, the
Sail Rock Tour blows into Fortune Bay Casino in Tower, MN
… with a couple of subtractions and a nice addition!
On the road again … well, at least on the weekends, until we hit our stride in August.
Due to schedule conflicts, both Robbie Dupree and Gary Wright could not make this show.
Instead, enter Al Stewart! (Time Passages, Year of the Cat) …bringing with him a couple of classics, many smiles, an affable manner and some great stories … like the time when he was 17, backstage at a Beatles show, and got to play John Lennon‘s guitar!
Not to be outdone, the boys from Player chimed in with their own stories …

leading man Ridge Forrester on
The Bold & the Beautiful.
Peter Beckett (R), another Limey, recounted how his former band opened for Jimi Hendrix and the Who … standing side stage as Jimi lit his guitar on fire and Pete Townsend‘s jaw dropped!
Without skipping a beat, his partner Ronn Moss (L) added that, as a UCLA student, he got to stand a few feet from Hendrix while witnessing a word-of-mouth-only, pre-tour show for 200 lucky students.
Hey … SOMEbody’s gotta do it!
Ronn is fond of his camera, and thanks go to him for all of these shots.
Sound check: Left is, of course, Fly Amero. I’m in the center (dressed for a photo shoot :-), with David Muse of Firefall on the right.. David is one hell of a fine musician … saxes, flute, keyboards, vocals … Besides doing his Firefall stuff, he played killer sax all over Al Stewart’s tunes.
Jock Bartley (Firefall co-founder), Al Stewart, Ronn Moss, John Ford Coley and Peter Beckett just before show time.
It’s not like Tower, MN is the end of the Earth … but you CAN see it from there. 🙂 The nearest airport is Hibbing, about 50 miles away. The main attraction in this single-gate portal is a stuffed bear in the lobby, which is the combination ticketing counter, baggage claim area and waiting room.
Front-of-House Mixer Chris Thom, Peter Beckett, John Hall, Fly Amero, Al Stewart, Tour Manager Bill Nemuth (kneeling), John Ford Coley, Lance Hoppen, Charlie Morgan, Ronn Moss, Lane Hoppen at the airport in Hibbing, MN, ready for tale off to home ports. Christopher Cross and crew drew the short straw, flying from Deluth (90 miles from Tower) at the crack of dawn. Better luck next time, CC!
The following week found the tour at the Mid-California State Fair in Paso Robles, CA. Another really nice venue and successful gig. No photos have emerged as yet but, if they do, I will post that story in arrears.
Thanks for reading … leave a comment … and stay tuned!
Lance Hoppen
(reporting for the entire Sail Rock / Orleans ground crew}
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Showing All Comments
Robert Dexter
Very interesting to read this post how did you get this idea? Fake Digital Marketer Online
May 30, 2015 @ 3:02 AMReply
hipband
Caught the show last night in Dayton. We had a blast. I think you should make this a yearly summer event. The only let down was C. Cross. He sounded great but didn’t seem to participate as much as others did and missed the fun. Orleans were the all stars of the night and your harmonies were great. Add some other folks next year and play a longer show – love to see Jonathan Edwards, Rupert Holmes, Seals and Crofts or others added. Keep the folks you got, add a few more. Play a few more covers.
August 9, 2013 @ 10:25 AMReply
hipband
Looking forward to seeing you in Dayton/ Fraze Pavilion next week. Driving up from Cincinnati with a group of folks and we are excited!!!!
July 31, 2013 @ 3:46 PMReply
Mark Murphy
Thanks for the tour update. Any chance of a Orleans Opus 40 / Bearsville gig this year? The home town needs a “PARTY!”
July 28, 2013 @ 9:23 AMReply
Lance Hoppen (Reply to: Mark Murphy)
Unfortunately, not likely. Opus 40 has not been available for concert events for some years now. We tried a Labor Day gig at the Woodstock Playhouse and that was not nearly as well received, since it’s not the total family/picnic/outdoors experience of Opus. And it’s already late to create something for this fall … but that doesn’t mean we won;t try to!
July 28, 2013 @ 4:46 PMReply
Erik Olaf
Nice catch getting Al Stewart to play with you guys. Also David Muse of Firefall. I’ve seen Al Stewart and the Little River Band both play at the Aladdin Theater here in Portland. Would love to see Orleans or Firefall play there ( or somewhere else in Portland).
July 25, 2013 @ 12:19 PMReply
Lance Hoppen (Reply to: Erik Olaf)
Thanks for the venue suggestion, Erik. Maybe we can get the agents to work on that.
July 26, 2013 @ 8:56 PMReply
Julie Stricker
Wonderful to see everyone on tour — some of my favorite musicians. Wish we could see a couple shows, but will wish you all well from afar.
July 25, 2013 @ 1:56 AMReply
DIANE TARTAGLIA
HOW ABOUT A STOP IN ORLANDO BEFORE OR AFTER MIAMI ??
July 24, 2013 @ 11:23 PMReply
Lance Hoppen (Reply to: DIANE TARTAGLIA)
Actually, Diane, there will be one … but not the kind you mean. I’ll be driving my daughter and her daughter (aka my granddaughter) to my sister’s so they can have a week-long vacation while I work in the area. At 3, Lacey is in for a DisneyWorld treat!
July 26, 2013 @ 8:54 PM
Gwen
Wow! You were in Hibbing, Minnesota! Home of Bob Dylan, The Bob Dylan Collection, Dylan Days Festival, AND the World’s Largest Open Pit Iron Ore Mine. Too bad you were only passing through the airport. So much to see and do there. 🙂 So glad to hear you are all having a great tour! Cheers to your lucky fans in Minnesota.
July 24, 2013 @ 10:53 PMReply
Lance Hoppen (Reply to: Gwen)
Geez, Gwen … I had no idea the place had such history … AND the world’s largest open pit ore mine. How could I have not seen THAT!?!?! Maybe next time. 🙂
July 26, 2013 @ 8:52 PMReply
Alan Farnsworth
Still the ones…after all these years…
July 24, 2013 @ 9:27 PMReply
Jeff Hoppen
Keep playing and having fun doing what you love to do.
July 24, 2013 @ 9:22 PMReply
Lance Hoppen (Reply to: Jeff Hoppen)
And what else would we do, cousin? 🙂
July 26, 2013 @ 8:57 PM