It’s Lowell night at the Lowell Summer Music Series on June 25th! Lowell-born Gary Hoey and his band, with Charlie Farren as the opener, will be on the stage that evening.

Born and raised in Lowell MA, rock and blues guitarist, Gary Hoey releases his latest album, Dust and Bones, this summer which will be on Mascot Label Group/Provogue. “I’m very excited to be on a guitar driven label that has some of the greats that I admire like Warren Haynes, Joe Bonamassa, Eric Johnson and many more. It’s going to be a great follow-up to Deja Blues.”

Gary Hoey (Official Photo)

With a collection of 19 albums it’s no wonder Gary Hoey is listed as one of the top 100 guitarists of all time.  1994 Hoey scored the successful “Endless Summer II” soundtrack for New Line Cinema. Other clients have included Walt Disney, ESPN, scoring the music to “California Screaming” (Disney Roller Coaster), and songs in movies “Office Space,” “Deck the Halls” (Danny Devito), and Beethoven III.

To this day the guitar aficionado continues to tour extensively, endorsing Fender guitars and amps, Monster Cable, GHS Strings, Rocktron to name a few. As Music Director for Rock n Roll Fantasy Camp, he’s worked with legends like Joe Perry, Roger Daltrey, Rudy Sarzo, Vinny Appice, Johnny Winter, Robben Ford, Leslie West, and KISS drummer Peter Criss. Hoey has toured and traded licks with the likes of Jeff Beck, Brian May of Queen, Joe Bonamassa, Ted Nugent, The Doobie Brothers, Joe Satriani, Foreigner, Styx, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, Peter Frampton, and Dick Dale.

Charlie Farren has long been known for great songs, great singing, and for outstanding live solo acoustic performances. Charlie’s solo performances have the energy and fun of a rock show, while maintaining in intimacy that makes for an entertaining and memorable evening. Charlie Farren emerged onto the national scene in the early ’80s as lead singer and guitarist with The Joe Perry Project. In that band, Charlie established himself as one of the hottest young singers to emerge from the Boston music scene, writing the hits ‘Listen To The Rock’ and ‘East Coast, West Coast’ and ‘I’ve Got The Rock And Rolls Again’.

Charlie Farren (Official Photo)

Now working on what will be his 17th CD, Charlie has been described as contagious, displaying a candor rarely demonstrated by former arena rock stars. “It’s clear he has not lost the ability to captivate a room full of people no matter what the size,” writes Tom Dempsey of SoundCheck magazine. Charlie continues to be one of America’s most original and compelling musical artists.

Tickets for the Gary Hoey Band show are priced at $29 in advance (fee-free!), $35 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 $79. Tickets for this show go on sale on Wednesday, May 11th 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.

The final lineup is:

June 10 (Friday) – Patty Griffin

June 11 (Saturday) – Guster

June 17 (Friday) – Mary Chapin Carpenter

June 18 (Saturday) – Peter Frampton

June 23 (Thursday) – Indigo Girls

June 25 (Saturday)  – The Gary Hoey Band and Charlie Farren

July 14 (Thursday) – Los Lobos

July 15 (Friday) – Brett Dennen

July 16 (Saturday) – Colin Hay

July 22 (Friday) – Eric Burdon & The Animals and The Edgar Winter Group

July 23 (Saturday) – case/lang/veirs

August 12 (Friday) – The Lone Bellow

August 13 (Saturday) – Dr. Dog

August 19 (Friday) – A Celtic Sojourn: Roots and Branches

August 20 (Saturday) – Peter Wolf & The Midnight Travelers

September 1 (Thursday) – ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic

September 3 (Saturday) – The B-52s