News Segment

BON JOVI TO PLAY PENNSYLVANIA INAUGURAL CONCERT:

January 13, 2007

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Bon Jovi will headline a slate of entertainers with strong Pennsylvania ties for Gov. Ed Rendell’s inauguration, the Democrat’s inaugural committee said Saturday.

Also scheduled to perform at Tuesday’s $100-per-ticket concert are former teen idol Frankie Avalon and The Trammps of disco fame.

The concert will be held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show complex in Harrisburg after the Democrat is sworn in for his second four-year term.

Lead singer Jon Bon Jovi is a New Jersey native with strong ties to Philadelphia, where Rendell served two terms as mayor. Bon Jovi is co-owner of the Arena Football League’s Philadelphia Soul and he was given the City of Brotherly Love Award last fall for his work with Habitat for Humanity.

Avalon, a Philadelphia native, was a popular recording artist in the 1950s who built a second career as an actor in the ’60s, appearing in films that included the “Beach Party” movies with Annette Funicello.

The Trammps began as a Philadelphia group and won a Grammy Award for their “Disco Inferno” album.

Other performers on the inaugural concert bill include:

The Dixie Hummingbirds, a gospel group who backed Paul Simon on his hit recording “Loves Me Like A Rock” and later won a Grammy for their own version of the song.

Jill Scott, a Grammy-winning singer and songwriter from Philadelphia.

Bianca Ryan, a 12-year-old singer from Philadelphia who won the debut season of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” show.

Monica Mancini, a singer who has won two Grammy awards and is the daughter of the late composer Henry Mancini.

Courtesy of www.ap.org