On April 23rd – 25th, 2004 Helena, Arkansas will again hear the
sounds of the rolling thunder for the 4th Annual Wild Hog Music
Festival & Motorcycle Rally. This river town will host some of the
top entertainment names that have ever come to Helena. Artists
performing at this year’s event will include:
Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad, The songwriter. The guitarist.
The unmistakable voice that powered Grand Funk Railroad to 12
platinum and 15 gold albums. A true rock 'n roll legend, Mark Farner
found fame and success at 20 years of age as the leader of one of
America's biggest bands, Grand Funk Railroad. The band recorded 17
albums with total sales of more than 25 million
records, and toured the world, which isn't bad for a guy who only had
three formal guitar lessons. His hit singles included "I'm Your
Captain (Closer To Home)," "Foot-Stompin' Music," "Loco-motion,"
"Mean Mistreater," "Bad Time" and "Some Kind Of Wonderful," among
others.
Classic Rock Allstars featuring the leads and forming members, Peter
Rivera from Rare Earth Original lead singer and drummer of Rare Earth
1969-75, who recorded over seventeen albums, had top ten hits with
"Get Ready", "I'm Losing You", "Born to Wander", "Hey Big Brother"
and I Just Want to... "Celebrate". Albums "Get Ready" and the
two-record set "Rare Earth in Concert" went double platinum. "One
World" and "The Ecology Album" went single platinum, "Willie
Remembers" and "Ma" gold. Rivera has been called the premier rock
drummer/vocalist of the '70s. , Jerry Corbetta from Sugar Loaf former
lead singer, keyboardist and founder of the melodically and lyrically
oriented "Green-Eyed
Lady" , "Heaven Above Me", "You're Lookin' Like Love To Me", Mike
Pinera from Blues Image and Iron Butterfly, His first million-selling
gold record was for "Ride Captain Ride" which he wrote and sang with
his group Blues Image. In the late 1960's, Mike joined, Iron
Butterfly. The Butterfly broke all Music Industry standards by
staying at the top of the charts for over 56 weeks. His album "In A
Gadda Da Vida", was the first album ever in music history to receive
a Platinum Award. Dennis Noda from Cannibal & the Headhunters is a
funky rockin’ bassist with a high visibility factor. His early
musical career found him in Cannibal and the Headhunters who achieved
international acclaim with the hit "Land of a Thousand Dances".
Janis Joplin’s band Big Brother & the Holding Company, Highlights of
their early performances includes "Coo Coo", "That's How Strong My
Love Is" and "Hall Of The Mountain King", "Down On Me", and
"Summertime". Big Brother and the Holding Company was a prime example
of a band where the chemistry was right, where the whole was greater
than the sum of its parts. Their album Cheap Thrills topped the
Billboard album chart on October 12, 1968, where it stayed for 8
weeks, eventually being vanquished from the number one position by
Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland and the Beatles’ White Album.
"Combination of the Two" starts the Cheap Thrills album off with a
bang, then segues into "I Need a Man to Love", followed by
"Summertime" and "Piece of My Heart" which
are classic Janis standards.
Southern Rock Allstars featuring members Jakson Spires of Blackfoot,
Jimmy Farrar of Molly Hatchet, Charles Hart of Cruize Control, Jay
Johnson of The Rossington Band and Duane Roland of Molly Hatchet) SRA
is an exceptional representation of what makes Southern Rock great!
With a unique combination of talent they've carved out their own
sound and blazed their own clear-cut path
without leaving their roots behind!
Also performing this year will be, Nettie Parr & Nine Below, Curtis
Moore Band, Bruce Page & the Blues Heavyweights, Live Wire Band and
Powerline.
Of course it wouldn’t be a rally without bike activities. New to the
rally this year will be the Wild hog Girls Contest where lovely girls
will compete for cash prizes and the honor of becoming Ms Wild Hog,
the Wild Hog Horsepower Shootout where bikers will be competing for
the bragging rights and cash and the Tattoo Contest.
Back again this year as always Wild Hog Field Events (featuring
Weenie Bite, Slow Race Balloon Toss, and Burn Out), the Poker Run
through the Delta countryside, the annual Parade of Bikes though
Helena and West Helena with the Wild Hog Bike Show closing the event
on Sunday where a new 2004 Harley Davidson will be given away this
year courtesy of the Isle of Capri.
Just added will be the “Arkansas Delta Passport Run” which will
consist of three tours with 11 stops. You can take one or all of the
three tours. If you complete 7 of the 11 stops you will receive a pin
and your name will go into a drawing for a FREE weekend getaway
vacation at any one of the Arkansas State Parks.
For more information on the festival visit the web site
www.wildhogmusic.org or contacting Leslie Chin, Festival Director at
870-572-3408.