(HOLMDEL, NJ) -- The Axelrod Performing Arts Center presents Pat Guadagno and his Lonesome Cowboys as they host Hank Williams 100th Birthday Bash on Sunday, September 10, 2023. The concert will take place under the stars on the deck at Bell Works in Holmdel. Showtime is 7:00pm.
Guadagno, who has shared the stage with the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan, BB King, Graham Parker, the Mavericks, Keb' Mo' and the Zac Brown Band, will be joined by Norman Seldin, Jackson Pines, PK Lavengood, Michael Patrick, Cranston Dean and Gary Oleyar to mark the 100th birthday anniversary of one of the most influential singers in American history.
Williams recorded 35 singles (five released posthumously) that reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Country & Western Best Sellers chart, including 11 that ranked number one (three posthumously). He died at age 29 but left behind such enduring hits as “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” “Hey Good Lookin’” and “Lovesick Blues.” He died on January 1, 1953 at the age of 29.
“We’ve put together a pretty fun band,” said Guadagno. “We have our own arrangements of the songs, but we’re staying really true to the originals.”
Guadagno first became interested in Hank Williams many years ago during his first trip to Nashville, when he visited a museum that displayed the Cadillac in which Williams died in the back seat on his way to a gig in Canton, Ohio. Williams’ legacy endures because his brutally honest songs were filled with heartache, honesty and raw emotion.
“The drinking, drugs and women all help make for a good story, but it’s really the quality of the music, his art and what he put into the songs as both a writer and performer,” said Guadagno. “They’re songs that anyone can relate to. “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” is just a work of genius. It tears your heart out.”
General admission tickets are $35 in advance and $45 at the door. The concert will be held on the outdoor deck at Bell Works, 101 Crawfords Corner Road in Holmdel, and will be moved inside in case of rain. Plenty of free parking! Tickets are available by calling the Axelrod Performing Arts Center at 732-531-9106, ext. 14, or visiting www.axelrodartscenter.com. Tickets are NOT available at Bell Works.
Bell Works is located at 101 Crawfords Corner Road in Holmdel, New Jersey.
