Night owls make their way inside Morristown, NJ's MPAC auditorium this Thursday, August 7, 2025 evening for a 50 Years: Happy Anniversary Tour concert by Little River Band.
The crowd cheers as bassist Wayne Nelson, guitarists Colin Whinnery and Bruce Wallace, keyboardist Chris Marion, and drummer Ryan Ricks take the stage.
Opening with “It’s a Long Way There,” the musicians sing in harmony, “Hey everybody, yeah/Don’t you feel that there’s something?” before long-time LRB singer/bassist Wayne Nelson skillfully handles the lead on this funk-infused rocker.
Concertgoers whistle and cheer and the group segues into the country-rock tune, “Man on Your Mind.” While Wallace gets the crowd clapping overhead to the feel-good vibe, Whinnery shines on a guitar solo.
Nelson greets the audience saying, “Hello, New Jersey, happy Thursday! Welcome to Month 8 of Little River Band’s 50th Anniversary. Are you ready to sing tonight? This is your party!” before LRB performs the group’s 1977 hit, “Happy Anniversary.” On this rhythmic pop song, Chris Marion is featured on a fast and funky keytar solo and Whinnery has the audience singing along on the song’s ubiquitous “Happy anniversary, baby/Got you on my mind” refrain.
“Well done, Jersey!” exclaims Nelson as he and the group launch into “Take it Easy on Me.”
Expert four-part harmonies ring out on this LRB soft rock tune before Wallace renders a guitar solo which elicits animated audience cheers.
Whinnery, Marion, Ricks, and Wallace each take turns singing lead on “The Other Guy,” a pop shuffle which features four-part vocal harmonies on the tune’s “The other guy won’t be around to talk to our kids/He won’t understand when you’re down, the way that I did” chorus.
Wallace asks, “How are you doing tonight, Morristown?” prior to teaching the audience the refrain to the group’s new country-rock song, “Windows to the World.”
Following another new number — the country-rocker, “First Time” — keyboardist Chris Marion sings, “Friday night, it was late, I was walking you home/We got down to the gate and I was dreaming of the night,” on the group’s nostalgic 1978 hit, “Reminiscing.”
After Whinnery and Wallace duel on guitars, Nelson impresses with a lyrical bass solo and the group ends the arrangement by slipping in a coda of Chicago’s “Saturday In the Park.”
Whinnery says to Ricks, “Ryan, give me a disco beat!” and the band launches into another new LRB song, “All I Need.” Then, Nelson dedicates the group’s next number, “Help Is on Its Way,” to veterans before the ensemble’s tight five-part vocals inspire whistles and applause from the crowd.
Band members exit the stage leaving Ryan Ricks to execute a drum solo where he rolls across the set, building in intensity and generating hoots and hollers from the audience.
The musicians return and Wallace and Whinnery come downstage to play the explosive guitar intro to “The Night Owls.” Nelson expertly reprises his lead vocal from LRB’s original 1981 recording of the tune, singing, “He’ll get the girl ’cause he looks so fine/He’s gonna win her every time/He knows he will/He’s dressed to kill/He’s a night owl.” Then, Whinnery, Wallace, and Nelson play side by side under flashing lights to cheers and applause on this appealing shuffle.
All five band members follow up by gathering around a microphone for an a cappella medley of songs including the Eagles’ “Heartache Tonight,” Loggins and Messina’s “Danny’s Song,” and The Hollies’ “The Air That I Breathe.”
Chris Marion treats the audience to an ethereal keyboard prelude that segues into the mystical LRB ballad, “Cool Change.” As Nelson earnestly sings, “If there’s one thing in my life that’s missing/It’s the time that I spend alone/Sailing on the cool and bright clear water,” Marion has the audience swaying their phone flashlights back and forth to the music.
After Wallace and Whinnery trade licks and Marion renders a keyboard solo, Nelson asks the crowd, “Morristown, what do you think?” and music lovers hoot and holler their approval. Nelson responds, “Thank you guys for 50 years of support!” prior to introducing his fellow band members and concluding the number by leading the audience in singing the song’s anthemic “Time for a cool change” chorus.
Concertgoers cheer and Nelson announces, “How about one for the beautiful New Jersey ladies?” before audience members stand, clap, and sing along to the group’s 1978 hit, “Lady.”
Women in the audience feel the love while Nelson serenades them singing, “I want a New Jersey lady/I want a Morristown lady/I want a New Jersey lady, not an old Jersey lady/I want a Thursday night kind of woman,” on this LRB pop-rock hit which ends with a fanfare of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir.”
Concertgoers stand and clap and Nelson exclaims, “God bless everybody, thank you!” After taking a photo of the crowd, he asks, “You got one more in you?” and music lovers respond in the affirmative before dancing and partying to LRB’s rendition of “Lonesome Loser.”
As the arrangement progresses, the group segues into snippets of Three Dog Night’s “Mama Told Me Not to Come” and Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk,” after which Nelson exclaims, “There’s one more chorus to sing with us!” and the crowd happily joins in vocalizing on the “Have you heard about the lonesome loser/He’s a loser but he still keeps on tryin’” refrain.
Nelson wraps up the evening announcing, “We love you guys! Thank you very much!” as he and the band exit the stage.
While music lovers make their way out of the MPAC auditorium, several comment on tonight’s performance by Little River Band. Declares Liz from Ramsey, “I loved this show! It had a great mix of old music and new music which I really liked, and the guys have great voices which really got the crowd going.”
Scott from Ramsey contends, “I think the show was unbelievable! The energy level was amazing and the musicianship was over the top.” Susan from Ramsey agrees, adding, “The show was tons of fun. Top to bottom, it was A-1!”
Elena from Mount Arlington asserts, “Little River Band was fantastic! This is the first time I’ve seen them live and they exceeded my expectations. I loved both their old songs and their new songs and I especially liked the a cappella medley. This is a group that definitely has great singing.”
Acknowledges Susan from Randolph, “I was surprised at how wonderful Little River Band was — the musicians were amazing and I would come see them again in a heartbeat. I loved their singing and I loved their songs. It was such an inspirational show!” Rich from Randolph concurs, adding, “They’ve got great harmonies, too!”
Lastly, Fran from Randolph calls LRB, “Fabulous,” explaining, “They’re classic — I saw them 30 years ago and I think they’re just as amazing as ever,” prior to concluding, “It’s their 50th anniversary and Little River Band’s still got it!”
To learn more about Little River Band, please go to reallittleriverband.com. For info on upcoming concerts at MPAC — including Steve Winwood on September 24, Yes: The Fragile Tour 2025 on October 2, and An Evening With Amy Grant: Songs/Stories/Memories on October 8 — please click on mayoarts.org.
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