EASTON, Pa. — Two music groups that between them had more than a dozen Top 10 hits in the mid-1960s will play a show together at Easton’s State Theatre, it has been announced.
Also announced was a show by a famed television food personality.
And a vocal group that includes former members of The Four Seasons with Frankie Valli, performing chart-topping hits of that group, Motown, The Beach Boys, The Beatles and more.
Tickets, at $45-$85 for The Buckinghams and The Lovin’ Spoonful, $59-$79 ($200 VIP) for Alton Brown and $29-$59 for The Modern Gentlemen, are on sale now on the State Theatre website and at the box office at 453 Northampton St., Easton.State Theatre news release
The Buckinghams, best known for its No. 1 hit “Kind of a Drag,” will join with The Lovin’s Spoonful, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group that had the hits “Do You Believe in Magic?” and “Summer in the City” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28.
Alton Brown, the famed foodie who started the Food Network’s “Good Eats” show, will perform Alton Brown Live: Last Bite at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 12.
And The Modern Gentlemen, with members Brian Brigham, Brandon Brigham, Todd Fournier and Landon Beard — all of who spent 15 years as members of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, will perform at 4 p.m. Sunday, March 23.
Tickets, at $45-$85 for The Buckinghams and The Lovin’ Spoonful, $59-$79 ($200 VIP) for Alton Brown, and $29-$59 for The Modern Gentlemen, are on sale now on the State Theatre website and at the box office at 453 Northampton St., Easton.
Buckinghams and Lovin' Spoonful
The Buckinghams are best known for the No. 1 hit “Kind of a Drag,” its breakthrough hit in 1966.
Its remaining Top 10 hits — “Don’t You Care,” “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,” "Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)" and “Susan” — all were released in 1967.
The group had a couple of minor hits through 1969. The band broke up in 1970, but re-formed in 1980 and has continued to tour since.
The group still has two members from its classic lineup – guitarist/vocalist Carl Giammarese and bassist/vocalist Nick Fortuna.
In the mid-1960s, with protests over the Vietnam War and racial discord roiling, The Lovin’ Spoonful song “Summer in the City” became an anthem of a society in turmoil.
When the hippie and drug culture emerged in the wake of that, The Lovin’ Spoonful also was part of the soundtrack, with songs such as “Daydream” and “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?”
The group broke through in 1965 with the Top 10 hit “Do You Believe in Magic” and had seven Top 10 hits within the next two years, including “You Didn’t Have to Be So Nice,” “Daydream,” “Did You Ever Have to Make up Your Mind.”
Its 1966 “Summer in the City” hit No. 1 and was a gold hit.
Its run of Top 10 hits concluded with 1966’s “Nashville Cats,” but the band continued to have Top 30 hits such as “Darling Be Home Soon” and “Six O’Clock” through 1967. Lead singer John Sebastian went solo in 1970.
The Lovin’ Spoonful was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
The only remaining original member is drummer and vocalist Joe Butler.
Alton Brown and The Modern Gentlemen
Brown's "Good Eats" ran for 16 seasons. He later was host and main commentator on "Iron Chef America" and "Cutthroat Kitchen," and a sequel series, "Good Eats: The Return," ran 2019-21 on Food Network.
He is a best-selling author of several books on food and cooking. Brown has more than 8 million social media followers.
In Alton Brown Live: Last Bite, the famed foodist reflects on his decades in food media, presents several of his favorite culinary mega-hacks and sings some of his funny food songs.
The Modern Gentlemen feature the Brigham brothers and Beard, who were members of The Four Seasons 2003-18 and Fournier, who was in the group 2002-18 — longer than any other lineup of the group.
They began The Modern Gentlemen with the blessing of Valli.
They perform not only songs by The Four Seasons, but also chart-topping hits from Motown, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Eagles, Queen, The Bee Gees, Billy Joel and more.
