Rhythm and Blues favorites Tower of Power will be appearing at the Lowell Summer Music Series on Thursday, July 30! I have not seen them in a long time and they always put on a fun show.

“For well close to five decades, Tower of Power has delivered the best in Rhythm and Blues music. But, as group co-founder Emilio Castillo says, they could have had a much different name. “We were a Soul band called The Motowns.” he recalls. Rocco Prestia was the bass player, I was in there, and my brother was the drummer. I met Doc Kupka at the Alameda County Fair over the Fourth of July weekend back in 1968 and gave him an audition. He came in the band, and we eventually changed our name to the Tower of Power.” The reason for the band name change was that they had a specific goal in mind.

Tower of Power (Official Photo)

“We wanted to get into the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco and with a name like the Motowns, dressed in suits with razor cuts, we knew we’d never get in there. We grew our hair long and changed our name. Doc then suggested to me that we should start writing our own songs. Our first song was ‘You’re Still A Young Man.” As it turned out, Bill Graham and David Rubinson – the producer for his new label, San Francisco Records – liked the band because we were soulful. Everyone had grown out of the whole psychedelic thing. Bands like Jefferson Airplane and Grateful Dead had been happening for about three years. The collective ear of the Bay Area was ready for something soulful. That’s right when we came along.” ”

Tickets for the Tower of Power show are priced at $38 in advance (fee-free!), $45 on the day of the show (if available) and children 12 and under are always free courtesy of Eastern Bank. There are also premium seats – beach chairs are provided by the Series – set in two rows directly in front of the stage for $138.  Tickets go on sale Thursday, April 23 at 9 a.m. through Lowell Summer Music Series.

For those of you who are unaware of the  Series, or if you are aware of it but have never attended a show there, it is an outdoor (weather permitting) concert series held on National Park Service grounds in Lowell, Massachusetts. The Series is not-for-profit, which helps keep the ticket prices reasonable.

Surrounding Boarding House Park are old mill buildings, part of the Lowell National Historical Park, which you can tour if you arrive early enough. They provide an unusual setting for an evening of great music and ambiance.

The Series generally runs from late June to early September.

This Series is dear to my heart. I have been a season pass holder since 2007 and it is one of the highlights of the year (and of summer in particular) for me. Many lasting friendships have been made there. I expect this will be another excellent year!

I will post additional announcements for the Series as they are made.

Shows announced to date are:

June 19 (Friday) – Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Jonny Lang

June 20 (Saturday) – Ani DiFranco

June 26 (Friday) – Mike Gordon

July 9 (Thursday) – The Wood Brothers with Tall Heights

July 17 (Friday) – Chris Robinson Brotherhood

July 18 (Saturday) – Dave Mason’s Traffic Jam

July 30 (Thursday) – Tower of Power

July 31 (Friday) – The Official Blues Brothers Revue

August 1 (Saturday) – Gordon Lightfoot

August 7 (Friday) – Lyle Lovett and His Large Band

August 14 (Friday) – Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers

August 27 (Thursday) – John Hiatt & The Combo and the Taj Mahal Trio

August 28 (Friday) – Lake Street Dive

August 29 (Saturday) – Melissa Etheridge