The Buckinghams in Concert

It's official! Great news for all fans of The Buckinghams who love being part of Concerts at Sea ! In just 3 short months, the 2022 Concerts at Sea lineup is going to be nothing short of spectacular, with The Buckinghams now rejoining the “Where the Action Is” cruise lineup originated by Paul Revere in his lifetime. The traditions carry forward today by Paul Revere’s Raiders . The cruise comes in the middle of winter, January 15-22, 2022, and it’s the perfect time to get out of your snow, sleet, and otherwise dull weather and get out to the best in Caribbean locales for a week of the best in unforgettable music, memories, and good times with your fellow cruisers. The 5th Dimension , Gary Puckett & the Union Gap , the amazing Brian Hyland , longtime favorite Peter Rivera (original drummer for Rare Earth/lead singer), with Jay Michaels as emcee, Jackson Haney , former member of Bill Haley’s Original Comets, and the fun house band, J.R. & The Stingrays. Original por...

To those in Chicago who look forward to attending the annual Columbus Day Parade, it is especially memorable for those of Italian heritage, thanks to Christopher Columbus for discovering America. The year 2021 Parade marked the 69th annual parade, held on State Street. [L to R: Carl Bonafede, Rocky Penn, Carl Giammarese, Carlo Isabelli, Nick Fortuna, Bruce Soboroff. Photo by Susan Rakis.] Pride in one’s family heritage runs strong, in Chicago and in every city across the country, but in the case of the Columbus Day annual celebration, one need only look to the JCCIA, which stands for the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans. [Photo courtesy of San Filippo Foundation, Facebook page.] When JCCIA current president Ron Onesti, CEO of Onesti Entertainment (The Arcada, Des Plaines Theatre, and several other venues), was planning for the 2021 Columbus Day Parade, he reached out to the Sanfilippo family (Jasper Sr.’s widow, Marian, and their five children continue to be inv...

Just about an hour’s drive from Chicago, this weekend you’ll have two chances to see The Buckinghams in concert at the historic Belfry Theatre, in the gorgeous Geneva Lakes area, October 1 and 2, 2021, starting at 7pm. The theatre is filled with comfortable seats, it’s cozy yet the perfect way to come together for an evening of amazing music. Arrive early and enjoy one of the great restaurants in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. This is the fourth time The Buckinghams will appear here, one of their favorite venues to play. Both Friday and Saturday Shows are almost sold out but as of this morning, for Friday, a choice few tickets remain, priced from $52 to $68. On Saturday, a few premier seats are available, as well as a few of the others. They’re expected to sell out before the weekend, so don’t procrastinate. Log on to their website for ticket info here . The Belfry Music Theatre is located at 3601 State Hwy 67, Delavan, Wisconsin. It’s a historic theatre ...

What are the chances that one Buckinghams concert in 1968 would find itself relevant again in 2017? Relevant, that is, if you find it on the path of the string of people connected to the films of actor Kevin Bacon? Remember that game that “assumed that anyone involved in the Hollywood film industry can be linked through their film roles to Bacon within six steps”? On August 11, 1968, Dennis Tufano and Carl Giammarese ( Bacon number of 6 ), two of the founding members of the band, The Buckinghams ( Bacon number of 5 ), were in the heyday of their musical careers as a beloved national act. The previous year, Billboard Magazine had named them "The Most Listened to Band in America." Photo top: Carl, Jon-Jon; bottom: Nick, Marty, and Dennis. Now, The Buckinghams were booked to perform for one week, August 5-11, as the stage band in performances of “ Sweet Charity ” ( Bacon number 4 ), the play that actress Shirley Maclaine ( Bacon number 3 ) made famous nationw...

If you’ve been on the fence about being able to attend Sunday’s great 89th Birthday Bash for Dick Biondi, Chicagoland’s beloved Radio Hall of Fame and Illinois Rock & Roll Hall of Fame DJ, you’re in luck. The Arcada Theatre is where you want to be at 2pm Sunday, Sept. 19th because that’s when the big show begins! Get your $49 SALE tickets here ! Pam Pulice, Director of “The Dick Biondi” Film shared, “Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, we have a limited amount of $49 seats to Dick Biondi’s Big 89 Birthday Bash! 9 Bands, 1 Show.” She urges, “Get your tickets while they last.” Naturally The Buckinghams will be one of the nine bands appearing, and their drummer Rocky Penn and guitarist Dave Zane will back Felix Cavaliere, thereby becoming temporary Rascals. The show lineup also features The Ides of March, the New Colony 6, The Cave Dwellers, Rosie & the Rivets, Hot Rocks Rolling Stones Tribute, Jimy Sohns of The Shadows of Knight, and Hall of Fame Blues Drummer Merle Pe...

From the simplest sounds of a solo guitar can come the most powerful of unforgettable songs that stay on your mind long after you’ve heard them in the car, on your phone, or on other electronic delivery means. Just hearing two voices seemingly made to blend together can easily send the listener into creative mode, envisioning the scenes being sung about and adopting the mood that is conveyed by sterling lyrics. Such is the song, “Little Something,” cowritten by Sting and Dominic Miller. Today marks the release of the Official Video of the song as performed by Chicago-based singer/songwriter Carl Giammarese and Chicago native, Lisa McClowry. Despite the scenes portrayed in the video, the duo was never in person during the making of the song, or of the official video. However, the “together from far away” method of song and video production, today, is almost routine procedure that artists have taken to share music and be creative during the safe, sure, and confining times of ...

Photo by Jack Mongan. A Special Message from Carl: “Today, all of The Buckinghams wish a very special birthday to founding member and original lead singer, Dennis Tufano. But today especially, I’m remembering all the birthdays we celebrated together in the early days, mostly while on the road. Our schedules were so busy it’s not like we could take our special night off. In fact, as I recall, we spent more holidays on the road away from home and families, particularly from 1966-1968 when we were booked for 300 dates a year." Photo by Jack Mongan "On August 31, at the actual ceremony for the Inaugural Class at the Rialto Theatre in Joliet, IL, Dennis represented The Buckinghams in accepting the award for our being inducted into the Illinois Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It was hard to miss joining him for the event as we were performing in Hillside, IL, that night." Continuing, he said, "Harder still, though, was it to realize that Jon-Jon and Marty were not ...