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Dark Star Orchestra to Perform at William Paterson University on Saturday, December 6
—Concert supports the Grateful Dead-founded Rex Foundation
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Dark Star Orchestra, the remarkable tribute band that has been delivering the Grateful Dead experience to old and new fans since 1997, will present its critically acclaimed live performance on Saturday, December 6 at 8 p.m. in Shea Center for Performing Arts at William Paterson University in Wayne, N.J.
Dark Star Orchestra is contributing $1 per ticket to benefit the Rex Foundation, founded by the Grateful Dead, which benefits the environment, individuality in the arts, and supports social services.
The concert celebrates the release of Dark Star Orchestra’s new live double DVD set, Ithaca 30 Years Later: The Video. The release captures the band recreating a well-known show in the Grateful Dead’s long history.
The Dark Star Orchestra sets itself apart from other tribute bands for its faithful precision. Every detail, from the stage positioning, vocal arrangements, amplifiers, microphones, song set, and instruments, is authentic for the performance and time period.
“For us it’s a chance to recreate some of the magic that was created for us over the years,” guitarist and vocalist Rob Eaton explains. “We offer a historical perspective of what it might have been like to go to a show in 1985, 1978, or whenever. Even for Deadheads who can say they’ve been to a hundred shows in the 1990s, we offer something they never got to see live.”
Wrapping up another monumental year, the Dark Star Orchestra played their 1,500th show together in 2008 as they wowed sold-out audiences in Europe and fields of fans at some of the nation’s hottest festivals, including their inaugural performance at Bonnaroo. Other highlights this year include guest performances with Phish bassist Mike Gordon, and the Grateful Dead’s Donna Jean-Godchaux and Bob Weir. The band was further assisted in their faithful recreations as they were joined on two tours by Dan Healy, who served as the original Grateful Dead’s sound engineer for over three decades.
Since 1984, the Rex Foundation has granted over $8.2 million to some 1,000 recipients. Its mission is to help secure a healthy environment, promote individuality in the arts, provide support to critical and necessary social services, assist the less fortunate, protect the rights of indigenous people and ensure their cultural survival, build a stronger community and educate children and adults.
This musical event is part of William Paterson’s WP Live Vistas Series, designed to serve the University’s students and faculty as well as the surrounding multicultural community. Funding for the Vistas Series at William Paterson University has been made possible, in part, by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State.
Tickets to the show are $40 for Gold Circle; $37 for Orchestra and Loge; and $35 for Rear Loge. For additional information, please contact the Shea Center Box Office at boxoffice@wpunj.edu or call 973.720.2371 or go to www.wplive.org.
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November 17 , 2008
www.wpunj.edu
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