The H. Ric Luhrs Performance Arts Center series continued on Thursday night with the amazing Huey Lewis and the News performing live.
For more than 30 years they have been making and performing music. Huey Lewis and his dynamic band The News set the Luhrs on fire with such tunes such as “Stuck with you” and “Power of love“ and soft rock love ballads like “This is It.”
As he started the concert with a big hello to a packed audience and addressing the crowd for coming out the Luhrs.
Huey Lewis said “me and the band started out as a hot dog band and now we are a part of the cheese and wine set.”
He then introduced his new background singers Tonya Hill and Sonja Griffin and the News started with the cover song “Respect Yourself” a song originally done by the legendary Staple Singers.
Lewis then quickly changed gears to play “I want a New Drug.” Then showing off his harmonica skills in “Jacobs Ladder” and his guitarist Stef Burns had an incredible solo during this song.
With the whole crowd on its feet he started to introduce a few members of his band, The News.
The house lights went up a little as he called each member out by name, Jon Colla, guitar and sax player, Bill Gibson drums and percussion, Sean Hopper who plays keyboards, John Pierce, bassist and Stef Burns who had a previous solo.
Lewis then started to talk to the ladies in the audience and dedicated the next songs to them.
Standing side by side with each of the band members at the front of the stage, all the members of the band walked away from their instruments and then went into an all-out a cappella routine with Lewis.
The band members seemed more comfortable without their instruments and were great.
The show kept the crowd on their feet as Lewis continued with “Heart and Soul.”
That left the crowd cheering for more. The band walked off the stage and the crowd went wild and gave Huey Lewis and the News a standing ovation calling for the band to return.
They returned to the stage to sing three more songs” Power of Love,” “Do You Believe in Love “and “Working for a living.”
Charles Jones, a Huey Lewis fan from the ’80s said, “I’m just glad to see that he is still out there performing like he did back in the ’80s and the ’90s.
The stage performance was incredible and the horn section still sounds fresh as it did in the ’80s.”
Huey Lewis and the news left the audience on its feet and screaming for more.
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