Review and Photos by Fred Kuhlman
Promoter: Danny Zelisko Presents (https://dzplive.com/ )
Venue: Talking Stick Resort – Showroom (https://www.talkingstickresort.com/ )
Date: Saturday June 1st, 2024
Tour: Jerry Riopelle Tribute Concert 2024
I first moved to the Phoenix area in the summer of 1973. I was a longtime listener to an FM station out of Detroit that played a lot of albums and music that you would never hear on AM radio. So, when I got to Phoenix, I was amazed that there was this FM station, KDKB that also played a lot of the same style of music I was listening to. They also played a lot of music by artists you would never hear on other stations. This was how I was first introduced to the music of Jerry Riopelle. Jerry was not a native of the Phoenix area, but the Arizona community quickly adopted him as a native son.
Jerry was probably best known for his New Years Eve shows at the Celebrity Theatre in the 70s, 80s and 90s. All of these shows were sellouts and everyone there always had a fantastic time. I have seen Jerry numerous times at the Celebrity Theatre, Campton Terrice and Dooleys and even Talking Stick Resort (TSR) Showroom. Unfortunately, we lost Jerry a few years ago just prior to one of his shows at TSR. Thanks to his son, Paul Riopelle and long with long time friend Danny Zelisko, they have created a yearly tribute concert to Jerry.
As part of this tribute performance are a number of artists that were either part of Jerry’s band over the years or fellow musicians that loved Jerry’s music. There was so much interest in attending this concert, that TSR and Danny Zelisko Presents added a second show. I was lucky enough to attend the second show.
This is also the 50th anniversary of Jerry’s landmark album, Saving Grace. The show consisted of 2 sets. The first set was the performance of Saving Grace in its entirety. The second set was all of Jerrys other greatest hits including a couple of lesser known that were his band’s favorite songs. Both sets were over 1 hour in length.
At the end of the night, as a tribute to Jerry, each member of the band came out and had a white towel over there neck just like Jerry did at the end of his shows. They completed the show with a video of Jerry performing one of his songs.
If you are a fan of Jerry Riopelle, then this is a show that you should attend and reminisce about the fun times we had. Personally, I can’t wait until next year to see this great show again.
Jerry Riopelle Tribute Concert
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2024, All Rights Reserved
