The Gin Blossoms, an alternative rock group that rose to prominence in the late-1980s, will be the featured band during the 2023 Taylor Summer Festival scheduled for June 22-25 at Heritage Park. Tickets sales open at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 12.
The band will be featured during the rock concert on Friday, June 23. Saturday, June 24, is fireworks night at the summer festival.
Ticket prices are $35 advance seated ($40 day of the show) and $15 advance general admission standing room ($20 day of show). The advance ticket links will be available online at www.taylorfestival.com. Parking at reasonable prices will be located both inside and outside Heritage Park.
Gin Blossoms' blockbuster 1992 album New Miserable Experience spawned four Top 40 hit singles and established the Arizona quintet as one of the top rock groups of that decade. NME would go on to earn Platinum status with more than 4 million units sold. More than 30 years have passed since the release of that album. Now Gin Blossoms are back with their best set of songs in years.
Produced by Don Dixon and engineered by Mitch Easter, Mixed Reality (set for release June 15) demonstrates the timeless appeal of Gin Blossoms' music has endured.
Gin Blossoms formed in 1987 in Tempe, Arizona; guitarists Jesse Valenzuela and bassist Bill Leen were founding members. After some lineup changes, the group coalesced around Valenzuela, Leen, Robin Wilson (vocals and guitar), drummer Phillip Rhoades, and guitarist Doug Hopkins.
One quality that sets Gin Blossoms apart from other groups has always been its deep bench. Four of its five members wrote songs. While each musician would bring his unique songwriting sensibility to the group, somehow the tunes all came together, creating a whole far greater than the sum of its parts – which still include Leen, Valenzuela and Wilson along with Scotty Johnson and Scott Hessel.
Time has been very kind to the band's back catalog. Unlike many other records of a specific era, its original hit album managed the unique feat of capturing the early 1990s while remaining timeless. The songs from the breakthrough album have not dated since the world first heard them. Audiences packed venues on the NME 25-year anniversary tour, often remarking that the show felt and sounded like a greatest-hits collection. Which, in a sense, was completely accurate.
During the summer festival, plan on hearing hits like “Hey Jealousy”, “Congratulations I’m Sorry”, “As Long as It Matters” and many more.
Visit www.taylorfestival.com for more information and ticket links during the coming weeks. Recoil Firearms is the sponsor of the fireworks display. Other sponsors and partners include Wallside Windows, Faygo, Bud Light, General RV Center, and New County 93.1. The summer festival is presented by 360 Event Productions and the City of Taylor.
