10,000 Maniacs to perform at Mushroom Festival
07/18/2017 04:43PM ● By J. Chambless
10,000 Maniacs will play the 2017 Mushroom Festival in Kennett Square on Sept. 9 at the Special Events Tent. The concert will be presented by The Kennett Flash and will serve as a benefit for the non-profit performing arts center and music venue.
10,000 Maniacs were founded by Robert Buck, Dennis Drew, Steven Gustafson, John Lombardo and Natalie Merchant in the fall of 1981. Jerry Augustyniak joined in 1983. Together with artists like R.E.M., they defined college rock and created the first wave of alternative rock bands and what became know as the alternative rock format on FM radio.
Writing and performing powerful, danceable and socially conscious original material in and around their hometown of Jamestown, N.Y., the group toured extensively and produced two independently released records. By producing, manufacturing and marketing their own recordings 10,000 Maniacs were one of the original “indie” bands before signing with Elektra Records and making their major label debut, The Wishing Chair, in 1985 with producer Joe Boyd (Fairport Convention, Nick Drake, REM).
After touring extensively with REM and throughout Europe John Lombardo left the band in July of 1986. In 1987, the Maniacs recorded and released In My Tribe. The album broke into the Billboard charts and stayed there for 77 weeks, peaking at No. 37 and selling over 2 million copies. The album featured the hit singles “Don’t Talk,” “Hey Jack Kerouac,” “Like The Weather” and “What’s The Matter Here?” It was voted one of the 100 most important releases of the 80s by Rolling Stone Magazine.
Their 1989 release, Blind Man’s Zoo, hit No. 13 on the Billboard charts and went platinum. It featured the hit singles, “Trouble Me” as well as “Eat For Two.” Our Time in Eden was released in 1992 and featured the hit singles “Candy Everybody Wants” and “These Are Days.” The album sold over 3 million copies. The band launched the career of singer/songwriter Natalie Merchant. Their MTV Unplugged album was released in 1993, a couple months after her departure, and included the remake of Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen’s “Because The Night.” The band continued without Merchant, bringing back John Lombardo and adding Mary Ramsey in 1994.
In December of 2000, founding member Robert Buck died at the age of 42. After a three-year hiatus the Maniacs returned in 2003 with long-time friend and former guitar tech Jeff Erickson on lead guitar. In 2013, 10,000 Maniacs released their first full-length album in 13 years. Music From The Motion Picture was hailed as a beautiful affirmation of the band’s classic poetic lyrics and dreamy Americana blend. The band released their most recent studio album, their ninth, Twice Told Tales, in 2015. The album is a collection of traditional folk songs from the British Isles compiled and arranged by founding member John Lombardo.
The Kennett Flash are proud to present 10,000 Maniacs as the featured performance at the 2017 Mushroom Festival. Advance tickets are available through The Kennett Flash website at www.kennettflash.org and will be available starting at 10 a.m. on Friday July 21. General admission tickets are $45, and a limited amount of VIP tickets are available for $65. Seating for the concert begins at 7 p.m. and the performance will start at 8 p.m.
10,000 Maniacs were founded by Robert Buck, Dennis Drew, Steven Gustafson, John Lombardo and Natalie Merchant in the fall of 1981. Jerry Augustyniak joined in 1983. Together with artists like R.E.M., they defined college rock and created the first wave of alternative rock bands and what became know as the alternative rock format on FM radio.
Writing and performing powerful, danceable and socially conscious original material in and around their hometown of Jamestown, N.Y., the group toured extensively and produced two independently released records. By producing, manufacturing and marketing their own recordings 10,000 Maniacs were one of the original “indie” bands before signing with Elektra Records and making their major label debut, The Wishing Chair, in 1985 with producer Joe Boyd (Fairport Convention, Nick Drake, REM).
After touring extensively with REM and throughout Europe John Lombardo left the band in July of 1986. In 1987, the Maniacs recorded and released In My Tribe. The album broke into the Billboard charts and stayed there for 77 weeks, peaking at No. 37 and selling over 2 million copies. The album featured the hit singles “Don’t Talk,” “Hey Jack Kerouac,” “Like The Weather” and “What’s The Matter Here?” It was voted one of the 100 most important releases of the 80s by Rolling Stone Magazine.
Their 1989 release, Blind Man’s Zoo, hit No. 13 on the Billboard charts and went platinum. It featured the hit singles, “Trouble Me” as well as “Eat For Two.” Our Time in Eden was released in 1992 and featured the hit singles “Candy Everybody Wants” and “These Are Days.” The album sold over 3 million copies. The band launched the career of singer/songwriter Natalie Merchant. Their MTV Unplugged album was released in 1993, a couple months after her departure, and included the remake of Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen’s “Because The Night.” The band continued without Merchant, bringing back John Lombardo and adding Mary Ramsey in 1994.
In December of 2000, founding member Robert Buck died at the age of 42. After a three-year hiatus the Maniacs returned in 2003 with long-time friend and former guitar tech Jeff Erickson on lead guitar. In 2013, 10,000 Maniacs released their first full-length album in 13 years. Music From The Motion Picture was hailed as a beautiful affirmation of the band’s classic poetic lyrics and dreamy Americana blend. The band released their most recent studio album, their ninth, Twice Told Tales, in 2015. The album is a collection of traditional folk songs from the British Isles compiled and arranged by founding member John Lombardo.
The Kennett Flash are proud to present 10,000 Maniacs as the featured performance at the 2017 Mushroom Festival. Advance tickets are available through The Kennett Flash website at www.kennettflash.org and will be available starting at 10 a.m. on Friday July 21. General admission tickets are $45, and a limited amount of VIP tickets are available for $65. Seating for the concert begins at 7 p.m. and the performance will start at 8 p.m.
