The stage will host three recording artists with histories in well-known groups including Journey, Kansas, Head East, and Petra. They will sing many of the rock songs that fans have loved for decades with those groups, accompanied later by testimonies and Christian music that they embrace at this point in their careers.
John Elefante was lead singer for Kansas from 1981-1985, providing lead vocals on two original recordings of hits Play the Game Tonight and Fight Fire with Fire. His voice will also sound familiar on performances of the mega-hits Carry On, Wayward Son and Dust in the Wind.
While spending some time in the metal group Mastedon with his brother Dino, Elefante spent most of the past three decades as a producer, partnering with his brother to grow the Pakaderm label. They also grew the largest recording studio in Nashville, Tenn. – Sound Kitchen, which hosted such artists as Bruce Springsteen, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Vince Gill, and Rascal Flatts.
Elefante has been active in the Christian music world throughout his career and his most recent release On the Way to the Sun reunites him with former Kansas bandmate Rich Williams and current Kansas violinist David Ragsdale. In 2013, he released a single called “This Time” which tells the story of his adopted daughter who was nearly aborted by her birth mother.
From 1974-1979, John Schlitt was the lead singer for the band Head East. Schlitt recorded six albums with the band, but because of an addiction to cocaine and alcohol, he was kicked out of the band in March 1980.
During the next six months, his wife became a born-again Christian and convinced him to see her pastor. Schlitt consented, but now acknowledges that he already had decided at that time to end his life. Shortly thereafter, he became a Christian himself and spent the next six years as a mining engineer and church member in Evansville, Ind.
In 1986, he joined the Christian rock band Petra. Over the course of the next 19 years, the group recorded 16 albums, including two Recording Industry Association of America-certified Gold Albums, Beyond Belief and Petra Praise: The Rock Cries Out. The group won four Grammy Awards and numerous Dove Awards, performing in all 50 states and some 35 foreign countries.
Andy Avery was the lead singer for the group Smokehouse before getting opportunities to fill in for Journey in Steve Perry’s absence. When Perry left the group, Avery was approached about becoming a member of the band, but believed that his past record of drug and alcohol abuse while in that industry was not a temptation he needed, choosing rather to grow his faith and family.
Music critics acknowledge that Avery sounds strikingly similar to Perry. Avery will perform several of the signature Journey songs, while also sharing Christian music and testimony. He travels full time and is also a performer for Royal Caribbean Cruises.
Tickets for the event are $20 for chair seats on the floor or on side stage, or $10 for general admission seats in the bleachers. A $2-per ticket discount is available for groups of 15 or more.
Tickets are on sale now at the Graves County Board of Education or can be reserved at Will Call by phoning 270-328-1544 or 270-856-6266. Tickets also will be for sale at the front gate the night of the event.
Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. The concert will begin at 7 p.m., after a welcome by Foundation president Dr. Tim Jones, an opening prayer, and the national anthem.
Proceeds from the evening benefit the work of the Graves County Eagle Foundation. More information and links to artists’ performances are available at www.gravescountyeaglefoundation.net.
