MUSIC

The Grand 1894 Opera House presents The B-52’s. Performing such hits as “Rock Lobster”, “Love Shack”, and “Deadbeat Club,” the high-energy, award-winning musical group – The B-52’s – take center stage at The Grand 1894 Opera House for one performance only on Friday, October 2, at 8pm.

Taking their name from the “Southern slang for the mile-high bouffant wigs” that singers Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson wore , the B-52’s certainly created a “look” that was emblematic of the band’s campy, thrift-store aesthetic. In fact, the group was the first of many acts to cement the college town of Athens, Georgia as a “hotbed of alternative music.”

Originally formed in the mid-70s after a drunken evening at a Chinese restaurant, the five-piece group - which also included founding member Fred Schneider, guitarist Ricky Wilson (Cindy’s older brother), and drummer Keith Strickland - had literally little or no previous musical experience and performed most of their earliest shows with taped guitar and percussion accompaniment. After pressing up a few thousand copies of the single “Rock Lobster”, they traveled to the famed Max’s Kansas City club for their first paying gig. Subsequent appearances at CBGB generated the attention of the New York press, and in 1979, The B-52’s issued their self-titled debut album: “A collection of manic, bizarre, and eminently danceable songs” which scored an underground club hit with a reworked version of “Rock Lobster.”

The following year, they issued Wild Planet, which reached the Top 20 on the U.S. album charts; Party Mix!, an EP's worth of reworked material from the band's first two proper outings, appeared in 1981.

The 80’s proved to be a decade of transition and regrouping, and it was not until 1989, when The B-52’s finally returned with “Cosmic Thing” – their most commercially successful endeavor to date. Right on the heels of this success were such hit singles as the party smash “Love Shack”, “Roam”, and “Deadbeat Club.” In 2008, after almost 16 years out of the limelight, the band returned –albeit with some changes – and released a new album Funplex – a slick, synthesizer-driven collection produced by Steve Osborne.
Audiences of all ages are sure to enjoy a grand night of entertainment when The B-52’s take the stage. Don’t miss it!

Ticket prices range from $18.50- $88.00. Special discounts for group and senior citizen tickets may be available. Call for box seat prices. For information about this and other performances scheduled, contact The Grand's box office at 409.765.1894, 800.821.1894, or visit The Grand’s web site at www.thegrand.com.  The Grand 1894 Opera House is located at 2020 Postoffice Street, in historic downtown Galveston. All major credit cards accepted.