{"id":105743,"date":"2018-08-10T06:42:59","date_gmt":"2018-08-10T11:42:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=105743"},"modified":"2018-08-10T06:42:59","modified_gmt":"2018-08-10T11:42:59","slug":"fountain-park-finale-almost-elton-john","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2018\/08\/10\/fountain-park-finale-almost-elton-john\/","title":{"rendered":"Fountain Park finale: Almost Elton John"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, here we are again, at the end of another summer concert season in Fountain Park.\u00a0<\/span>It is so hard to believe how quickly the summer passes.\u00a0I\u2019ve used these words before, but I\u2019m always reminded of Carol Burnett\u2019s sign-off song: \u201cSeems we just get started and before you know it, comes the time we have to say \u2018so long\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

By intention, we have saved perhaps the best for last.\u00a0<\/span>It certainly is the biggest concert of the summer regarding musicians, production, planning, and budget.\u00a0Craig A. Meyer is \u201cAlmost Elton John.\u201d\u00a0He and his Rocket Band will present \u201cRemember when Rock was Young.\u201d\u00a0This is obviously a tribute to the music of the immortal Elton John.<\/p>\n

Regardless of what you think of Elton John as a person, you have to admit that his stage show, and especially his music, have been immortal, and for good reason; his song list is a who\u2019s who of modern pop and lite rock music.\u00a0Not many performers can contribute enough of their own music to create a complete concert.<\/p>\n

Since 1970, he has performed with everyone from John Lennon to Little Richard to the London Symphony Orchestra.\u00a0The list of who has performed with Elton John is amazing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Regardless of your stature in the music world, it has been an honor to perform with Elton John.\u00a0He is known world-wide for his own hits as well as those made famous for blockbuster movies, TV shows, funerals of world-wide attention, and just about any other genre you can think of.<\/p>\n

Elton John is still with us, touring in his recently announced Farewell Tour — Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.\u00a0<\/span>For the next year, John will be playing all the major concert venues of the world before thousands of fans who will be paying big ticket prices for the opportunity to see him in concert one last time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I thought it would be good to bring a little bit of Elton John to Van Wert and Fountain Park during his farewell tour.\u00a0I had the opportunity to see Meyer perform his tribute to Elton John and I can\u2019t imagine anyone better.\u00a0He changes costumes and has a big band with backup vocals to help create the mood and music of this legendary performer, musician and singer.<\/p>\n

Meyer comes to us from California and we are fortunate to have him and the band come to Van Wert this summer.\u00a0It took a little negotiating, but I am sure you will love the concert experience.\u00a0The show begins at 7 p.m. with food available from the Rotary concession building and actually served by the Van Wert Rotary Club this time.\u00a0I urge you to support Rotary; after all, it was Rotary that provided the funds and much of the labor and materials for us to have this nice facility in Fountain Park.\u00a0<\/span>Thank a Rotarian this Friday night as you go through the line.<\/p>\n

There will be a surprise guest I will introduce before the concert.\u00a0His name is James \u201cJimmi\u201d Kilduff.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>He is a Broadway actor\/singer who has been performing most recently on cruise ships to rave review.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>His friends, Erin and LJ Jellison have helped produce a new show featuring the music of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Tom Jones.\u00a0They call it \u201cVintage Vegas.\u201d\u00a0They have chosen the Niswonger PAC as the place to launch this new show.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>We are pleased that they feel our personnel and venue are the best around to launch and video tape this show for the world to see.<\/p>\n

You can be a part of this premier with two performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, August 17 and 18 at the Niswonger.\u00a0Jimmi not only will be singing with a live seven-piece big band, but also will tell interesting stories about the songs we all love.\u00a0Stories such as how \u201cI Left my Heart in San Francisco\u201d was actually found in Tony Bennett\u2019s arranger\u2019s sock drawer.\u00a0Many, many other interesting stories and songs will be a part of this show.<\/p>\n

You can get your tickets at the Niswonger box office or online at\u00a0<\/span>NPACVW.ORG<\/a>.\u00a0I\u2019m sure you\u2019re going to love the show.\u00a0<\/span>Two identical shows — take your pick of Friday or Saturday night.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>As I said, I will introduce Jimmi at the Elton John tribute show this Friday night and he will be seated at the Niswonger table for you to meet and talk to.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s hope for beautiful weather this Friday night in Fountain Park.\u00a0If absolutely necessary because of weather issues, the concert will be moved into the Niswonger.\u00a0<\/span>I look forward to seeing you one last time in Fountain Park.\u00a0It\u2019s been a pleasure!<\/p>\n

FIN\u00c9.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well, here we are again, at the end of another summer concert season in Fountain Park.\u00a0It is so hard to believe how quickly the summer passes.\u00a0I\u2019ve used these words before, but I\u2019m always reminded of Carol Burnett\u2019s sign-off song: \u201cSeems we just get started and before you know it, comes the time we have to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-29 11:47:43","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105743\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}