Atlantic City is hot right now. Recent weeks have seen official announcements of opening dates for new resorts, along with major concert events from a variety of venues. But no matter who you bring to town, one fact remains — it’s hard to top a Beatle.
The folks at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa seem quite aware of this, which may be why they brought in the legendary Ringo Starr to set up shop there for an entire weekend. Starr will perform both Friday and Saturday nights, June 1 and 2, and a pop-up display of his artwork is set to be showcased in the Retail Piazza next to Borgata Baking Company. The art exhibit begins at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 31, and runs through Saturday evening.
“We are excited to transform our Retail Piazza into a multi-layered, weekend-long experience related to the legendary rock star,” says Mike Woodside, vice president of marketing for Borgata. Originally, Borgata had booked Starr and his All-Starr Band for one show at the Event Center on Saturday. But after that immediately sold out, they added a smaller, more intimate, iteration of the show for Friday at its 1,000 seat Music Box Theater. “After experiencing an overwhelming response toward Ringo Starr’s Event Center performance on Saturday, June 2, which sold out almost immediately, we were pleased to add a second Ringo show in The Music Box on Friday, June 1.” Woodside says.
Since 1989, Starr has toured as Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band, a concept that consists of him selecting seasoned musicians from other well-known rock bands and assembling them into a temporary supergroup of sorts. The All Starr Band’s live show consists of some of Starr’s solo material and Beatles songs, as well as the songs that were big hits for the various band members. There have been 13 incarnations of The All Starr Band. The current lineup includes Steve Lukather of Toto, Colin Hay of Men at Work, Gregg Rolie of Santana, Graham Gouldman of 10cc, and Warren Ham of Kansas, in addition to Starr himself.
Like many artists, Starr has more than one platform he expresses himself with. In addition to singing and playing the drums, Starr is an accomplished visual artist. Throughout the weekend, his pop-up art show at Borgata will give fans the opportunity to view and purchase his works. On June 2, those who purchase select pieces of his art will have the opportunity to take a photo with the ex-Beatle himself, fulfilling a life-long dream for many.
source:pressofatlanticcity