Rock fest set for Maui
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor
A classic rock music festival to be taped by VH1 is scheduled for Jan. 12 at Ka'anapali, Maui, and is expected to give Hawai'i's ailing visitor industry a big winter boost.
"Voices Rock the Beach," will feature singers and musicians from a host of platinum Top 40 bands and will take place at the Royal Lahaina Tennis Stadium at the Ka'anapali resort in an afternoon and evening of classic rock.
A syndicated Rock Line radio version is slated for Jan. 9, at the beach fronting Whaler's Village, and a Jan. 11 performance will be free to the public.
The concert, to be shown on VH1 Classic, will reach about 18 million cable households. The program also will be syndicated to DirecTV, extending the publicity reach to another 22 million households, equivalent to the viewership of ESPN2 or the Golf Channel.
Mike Reno, co-founder and lead singer of Loverboy, will be among the participating musicians expected at the Maui announcement today. He and his group are known for such hits as "Turn Me Loose" and "Loving Every Minute of It."
"There will be two nights of music," said Karee Carlucci, media coordinator for Kaanapali Resorts. A Jan. 11 concert, from 7:30 to 10 p.m., will be free; the Jan. 12 event, from noon to 10 p.m., will require admission but includes a 90-minute concert taping from 8:30 to 10 p.m.
"I think the exposure this will bring to Maui and Hawai'i, while the rest of the Mainland has cold weather, will be invaluable," said Carlucci.
With Maui voted the No. 1 island in the world by Conde Nast Traveler, it's not surprising that the TV producers chose the Valley Island, said Ken Rosene, a local promoter who is back in the Islands after many years on the Mainland. He is the show's Hawai'i promoter.
"We want to sell Hawai'i; with tourism down, a concert like this will have great appeal," he said. Producers plan to shoot Island scenics and artist vignettes to augment the live concert footage.
The Maui shoot is expected to assemble nine artists, each doing 30-minute sets, then a 90-minute concert for VH1 Classic cameras. The program, expected to air 45 days after the taping, will be shown a minimum of 15 times on VH1 Classic and 50 times on DirecTV during a 60-day window.
According to the show's Web site, participating rockers include Larry Hoppen of Orleans, Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, Spencer Davis of the Spencer Davis Group, John Cafferty of the Beaver Brown Band, Dave Jenkins of Pablo Cruise, Ronnie Hammond of the Atlanta Rhythm Section, Jimi Jamison of Survivor, Alex Ligertwood of Santana, Jeff Beck and Brian Auger, Jeff Baxter of the Doobie Brothers, Peter Rivera of Rare Earth, and Mickey Thomas of Starship.
