If indeed The James Gang are ready to “walk away,” then this is one hell of a “one last ride” to go out on. Singer Joe Walsh is reuniting his ’70s band for the sixth edition of VetsAid, an annual benefit aimed a raising money for veterans’ charities. And the reunion isn’t the only highlight, with Walsh’s fellow Ohioans Dave Grohl, Nine Inch Nails, The Black Keys and the Breeders also playing.
The concert is set to take place Sunday, Nov. 13 at the Nationwide Arena in a Columbus, Ohio, with the cleverly billed “One Last Ride” reunion performance of the James Gang highlighting the evening. The lineup that also includes Jimmy Fox and Dale Peters started their career with 1970’s James Gang Rides Again album, and the performance is being billed as their final performance.
The evening will also feature a Dave Grohl solo set, with the Foo Fighters frontman returning to the stage for a rare solo gig. Grohl recently joined Paul McCartney onstage marking his first live concert appearance since the death of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins earlier this year. Grohl will reunite with Foo Fighters and a wealth of special guests at two Taylor Hawkins tribute shows in London and Los Angeles next month. Grohl has an Ohio tie, as he was born in Warren, Ohio.
Likewise, all the other acts on the bill have Ohio ties as well, starting with Joe Walsh who attended Kent State university and began his music career with acts in the buckeye state. Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor has Cleveland ties, while The Black Keys duo of Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach hail from Akron and The Breeders Kim and Kelley Deal are from Dayton.
“It all started in Ohio,” Walsh said in a statement. “Picking up my first guitar as a kid in Columbus set me on a musical journey to Kent State, Cleveland and then the world.”
He added, “It is a great privilege for me to share the stage once again with my original James Gang buddies and this incredible group of Ohio rock legends like Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails, The Black Keys, The Breeders and Dave Grohl. I believe in Ohio and look forward to celebrating our musical legacy while honoring our veterans with VetsAid 2022.”
Walsh was a pivotal player in the evolution of the VetsAid concerts. He previously commented, “War is hell for everyone involved. I lost my father when I was a baby, before I could even make a memory of him. I stopped counting the number of friends I lost in the Vietnam War or that came home forever scarred mentally or physically or both. We’ve only just begun to appreciate the long-term impacts on our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan. I had to do something and seeing as though rock-and-roll seems to be what I do best, it’s also the least I could do for those who have served and continue to serve our country.”
“We’re all in this together as Americans and seems to me lately that people are forgetting that. So I decided to put on a show, raise some money, bring people back together and celebrate our vets… and let’s do it every year,” added the singer.
Tickets for the 2022 edition of VetsAid will go on sale this Friday (Aug. 5) through Ticketmaster, with all net proceeds going to veterans’ service charities with ties to Ohio. Learn more here.
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Source by loudwire.com
