First-ever RockFest to be a real Classic

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This article was published 29/08/2017 (3198 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The original idea behind the first edition of the Winnipeg Classic RockFest was to bring together a crew of Manitoba musicians and their friends for a special evening of meat-and-potatoes rock ’n’ roll.

Among the bands originally scheduled to perform was Streetheart — the Winnipeg-based group who rose to fame in the late 1970s and provided the country with hits such as Action and their famous cover of the Rolling Stones classic Under My Thumb — but after singer Kenny Shields took ill earlier in the summer and then died in July, the fate of their performance was up for debate.

It wasn’t long, however, before RockFest morphed from just a regular gig into a tribute to Shields — and Streetheart agreed to remain as headliners for the event.

“We were trying to figure out what we were going to do and we were getting phone calls from all over the place and the band wanted to continue and then all sorts of friends of Kenny decided we should make this a special evening of rock ’n’ roll to celebrate the life and legacy of Kenny Shields,” RockFest promoter and former mayor Sam Katz says.

“So there will be members of Streetheart and friends, there will be special guests from Loverboy along with Honeymoon Suite, Harlequin, the Pumps and Orphan — and there could be a few more special guests coming as well.”

Streetheart guitarist Jeff Neill says the band hasn’t played together since Shields died — their last gig was Canada Day in Edmonton — and acknowledges they are still grieving.

However, they’re grateful for the opportunity to pay homage to their friend and bandmate alongside some of their longtime musical buddies.

“My choice is that it will be a celebration of Kenny’s life and his legacy and people will feel good about it. Of course people are going to be sad; it’s going to be very poignant, people will realize it marks the end of a time period,” says Neill.

“Kenny has been in everyone’s lives since they were teenagers — graduating from high school, getting married, having kids, Kenny was always there, he was the soundtrack to people’s lives and weekends and camps and house parties. That era is complete now, so there is going to be a certain sadness about that.”

As for the actual format of the day, gates will open at Shaw Park at 4:30 p.m. and music is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m.

Food and alcohol vendors will also be on site and all tickets are general admission, meaning attendees can choose to sit in any seat at the ball park or bring a lawn chair and sit right on the field.

And for those wondering, the one-day festival landed on a Tuesday evening because of band availability, but organizers are already looking at weekend dates for next year.

When the Free Press spoke with Katz a few weeks ago, he also alluded to some other special music programming that may be in the works tonight.

“There’s still some things that are in the planning stages that could happen as well, so I know it will be a wonderful evening of entertainment as well as paying tribute to Kenny Shields in a very special way,” he said.

In addition to having the opportunity to dish out a proper farewell for Shields, Neill is also grateful to the fans of Streetheart, who have stepped up and delivered an outpouring of love and support to the other members of the band during the difficult past few weeks.

“There’s so many people who have said so many kind things and sent kind thoughts and love and support for Kenny. That’s meant an incredible amount to everybody — to myself and everyone involved in Streetheart,” he says.

“Our fans, they are the foundation of our band; not only for us but for all the bands out there, it’s the fans that have kept this great music and these great shows happening because they come out.

“Without the fans, we wouldn’t have anything, so I just want to thank them all for the love they’ve shown Kenny and for the support they have for the band, and it just means the world to us.”

More information about Winnipeg Classic RockFest, including the evening’s schedule and frequently asked questions, can be found at winnipegclassicrockfest.com.

erin.lebar@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @NireRabel