WORTHINGTON - John Mueller’s Buddy Holly tribute will return to the Worthington Memorial Auditorium Performing Arts Center April 9.
The California musician will play all-time favorite songs from rock ’n’ roll legend Buddy Holly, such as “That’ll Be the Day,” “Peggy Sue,” “Oh Boy” and “La Bamba” during a two-hour performance at the Winter Dance Party. The concert starts at 7 p.m.
A lot of people requested the show return to Memorial Auditorium, said Tammy Makram, the performing art center’s managing director. She noted the venue had to book the band two years in advance, and tickets sold out the last time they performed.
“This is a professional, amazing rock band, and they will knock your socks off,” she said.
Linwood Sasser and Ray Anthony will play in the place of “Big Bopper” and Ritchie Valens, respectively.
Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “Big Bopper” Richardson died one month into the original Winter Dance Party tour Feb. 3, 1959, when their plane crashed into the snow-covered fields. The day is sometimes referred to as “The Day the Music Died.”
In 1999, Mueller decided to visit the cities where Buddy Holly played during the 1959 Winter Dance Party. He performed concerts in honor of the tour’s 40th anniversary.
“It was quite historic - 30,000 people came out, and they were asking us if we were coming back,” he recalled. “I didn’t know at the time how we would go back, but we did.”
Mueller plays nearly 100 shows each year from Virginia to Washington and all the states between.
“It’s bulletproof music,” Mueller said. “It’s the kind of music that will always get a good response from the audience.”
He said he was lucky because his parents introduced him to bands such as the Beatles and Buddy Holly when he was a child.
“I liked the directness of the music … and it has a good beat,” he said.
Mueller’s Winter Dance Party is the only show of its kind endorsed by the Holly, Valens and Richardson estates.
Prior to his first tour, Mueller was cast as Buddy Holly in the Broadway musical “Buddy … The Buddy Holly Story” and performed in theaters across the country for three years.
“I got my first ‘A’ ever in drama class, and my teacher told me to pursue acting,” he said. “I never saw myself as a nine-to-fiver.”
He added that he considers himself a musician and an actor.
“We’ve already sold a lot of tickets, so people should call as soon as they can,” Makram said.
To reserve tickets call Memorial Auditorium, 376-9101. For more information go to
www.friendsoftheauditorium.com
.
