News: First Annual Sunset Strip Music Festival
First Annual Sunset Strip Music Festival
The City of West Hollywood will host the First Annual Sunset Strip Music Festival which will take place in one of the most famous and storied music neighborhoods in existence and will unite the Roxy, Whisky A Go-Go, The House of Blues, Viper Room, Key Club and Cat Club from Thursday, June 26, 2008 through Saturday, June 28, 2008. The three-day event is intended to promote, preserve and perpetuate the Sunset Strip music experience.
The celebrity kick-off event will take place on Thursday, June 26, 2008 at the House of Blues located at 8430 Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. Mark McGrath, Extra! host and Sugar Ray frontman will emcee the event which will pay tribute to Mario Maglieri, Lou Adler and Elmer Valentine, all music industry icons connecting the Sunset Strip to its past, present and future. Performances by exciting artists will take place in the famed Sunset Strip establishments on Friday, June 27, 2008 and Saturday, June 28, 2008 from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. An "Icon Roundtable" discussion moderated by CNN's Larry King and comprised of music legends and industry experts will take place on Saturday evening.
Celebrating its amazing musical history, which originated with the likes of Nat King Cole before bolstering performers from the Rat Pack to The Red Hot Chili Peppers to superstardom, the Sunset Strip's evolution was augmented by the sonic revolution of the late 1960s. Acts like The Doors (who were the house band at the Whisky in 1967), The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Frank Zappa and Jimi Hendrix changed the face of Rock & Roll while performing in staggeringly close proximity to one another.
In the 1970s, artists like Van Halen, Prince and David Bowie catapulted to stardom and reached multi-platinum sales due to the strength of their performances on the Sunset Strip. When L.A. punk blossomed around 1980, the Sunset Strip was home to X, the Germs and Black Flag before hard rock giants like Motley Crue, Guns N' Roses and Jane's Addiction took flight. In recent years, a new crop of bands like Weezer, The White Stripes, Maroon 5, Silversun Pickups and Pussycat Dolls, have achieved mega-stardom after first getting their legs in area venues.
The First Annual Sunset Strip Music Festival is co-hosted by the City of West Hollywood, the Sunset Strip Business Association, and Sunset Strip music venue owners/operators. The music lineup will be announced in the coming weeks.
For more information please contact Tamara White, Public Information Officer for the City of West Hollywood, at (323) 848-6431 or Todd Steadman, Executive Director for the Sunset Strip Business Association, at (310) 659-7368.