Another US music trip

I'm off on another American trip later this week, with John Howard, Gordon Fleming and Paul Waring, taking in music festivals in New York and Las Vegas and finishing in LA. Unlike most of my US road trips, which tend towards blues and soul, with a bit of Cajun and zydeco thrown in, this one will focus on doowop and rock and roll.
The first port of call is the Doowop Weekend in Hauppauge, Long Island. I was due to attend this annual event in November, 2012, but had to cancel my trip because of Hurricane Sandy. Let's hope the weather is kinder this time. The line up for the two day show comprises many of the remaining 50s and early 60s doowop artists and is pretty amazing. On day one there will be Gene Chandler, Charlie Thomas's Drifters, the Fidelities, the Charts, the Chantels, Eugene Pitt and the Jive Five, Sonny Til's Orioles, Jimmy Gallagher and the Passions, the Spaniels, the Willows, the Solitaires, the Dubs, Jimmy Clanton, the Mystics, Kathy Young and Jimmy Charles. On day two the line up includes Fred Parris and Satins, Jack Scott, Herb Cox and the Cleftones, the Harptones, the Diablos, the Continentals, the Wrens, Larry Chance and the Earls, Lenny Dell and the Demensions, David Somerville, Bill Carey's Danleers, the Fireflies, Norman Fox and the Rob Roys, Linda Jansen of the Angels and Harold Winley's Clovers. I don't know how many of the original group members will be there, but it promises to be quite a show. I've never been to this festival before but I've had good reports from John, who is quite a regular. I haven't seen most of the acts, but one I have seen is Jack Scott (pictured below) who I saw at Hemsby in 2000. While in the New York area we are planning a visit to the Apollo in Harlem.

After a few days on the east coast, we're off to Las Vegas, a place I've never visited before. The line up at the Viva Las Vegas weekend is also excellent, with performances by Lloyd Price, Imelda May, Los Straitjackets, Robert Gordon, the Trashmen, Sonny Burgess, Carl Mann, Hayden Thompson and Narvel Felts among many others. My photo shows Lloyd Price at the Dewdrop Inn Revisited show at the Sheraton Hotel in New Orleans in 1993.

After Vegas we're renting a car and driving to Los Angeles, another place in the States I've never visited before. Not sure where we will be heading exactly but I'm looking forward to it. I will be posting photos and reports on the blog as I go along. Cheers!