An Intimate Evening With Celtic Thunder Their Greatest Songs and a Reunion with Old Friends

Celtic Thunder Announces New Show: An Intimate Evening with Celtic Thunder

A Celebration of Their Greatest Songs and a Reunion with Old Friends

Fans of the internationally renowned Irish music phenomenon, Celtic Thunder, are in for a special treat as the group announces their brand-new show, An Intimate Evening with Celtic Thunder. This unique production will bring audiences a heartfelt celebration of the group’s most beloved songs while reuniting past and present members for an unforgettable evening of music, memories, and camaraderie.

An Intimate Evening with Celtic Thunder is more than just a concert—it’s a journey through the group’s incredible legacy. Featuring a carefully curated setlist of their greatest hits, this show will showcase the powerful harmonies, soaring ballads, and electrifying performances that have made Celtic Thunder a household name. From classic Irish folk songs to contemporary favorites, audiences can expect to hear the anthems that have defined Celtic Thunder’s illustrious career.

What makes this show even more special is the reunion of familiar faces. Over the years, Celtic Thunder has been home to some of the finest vocalists in the world, and An Intimate Evening with Celtic Thunder will see Emmet, Damian, Neil and Ronan perform some of Celtic Thunder’s greatest songs and welcome some old friends along the way. Longtime fans will be thrilled to see their favorite voices come together, blending their talents in an atmosphere of warmth and nostalgia.

“We wanted to create something truly special for our fans, something that feels personal and celebratory,” says Damian McGinty, longtime Celtic Thunder Principal. “This show is about reconnecting—with the music, with each other, and with the people who have supported us throughout the years. It’s a chance to relive the magic of Celtic Thunder in a more intimate way, and we couldn’t be more excited to share this experience with our audience.”

Since its inception, Celtic Thunder has captivated global audiences with its stunning performances and rich musical heritage. Known for their dynamic stage presence and ability to blend traditional Irish music with contemporary sounds, the group has sold millions of albums and performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages.

Tickets for An Intimate Evening with Celtic Thunder will be available on Friday, March 21st, and fans are encouraged to secure their seats early for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. For tour dates and ticket information, visit www.celticthunder.com

About Celtic Thunder

Formed in Dublin in 2007, Celtic Thunder is a multi-dimensional musical and theatrical ensemble celebrated worldwide for their emotionally powerful performances and state-of-the-art productions. Billboard Magazine has named them the Top World Album Artist five times, and their albums consistently rank in the World Album Top 10.

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Stayin’ Alive – A Tribute to the Bee Gees

STAYIN’ ALIVE offers to their audiences the songs and sights of a full Bee Gees playlist, singing blockbusters such as “Night Fever”, “Jive Talkin’”, “How Deep Is Your Love”, “You Should Be Dancing”, “Nights on Broadway” and “Stayin’ Alive”. In addition, they perform softer poetic ballads such as “I Started a Joke”, “Massachusetts”, “Fanny Be Tender”, “Words” and “To Love Somebody” among other great hits.
STAYIN’ ALIVE is the largest and most definitive production of its kind, offering big screen video clips, photos and dazzling imagery. STAYIN’ ALIVE has played intimate settings as a six-piece band and huge venues with a 62-piece orchestra. STAYIN’ ALIVE is the quintessential tribute band to the Bee Gees, capturing the excitement of live performance and the tender subtleties of the human voice!

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Steve Hackett: Genesis Greats, Lamb Highlights & Solo

His new show celebrates the 50th anniversary of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, and Steve Hackett includes a selection of highlights from this iconic Genesis album.

Steve Hackett’s timeless guitar work was woven throughout the classic Genesis albums of the ’70s. In recent years, he and his world-class band have brought several of these albums back to concert halls to great acclaim. Many fans also asked for more of The Lamb’s songs to be included. What better way to celebrate the half-century of this remarkable album than to include a selection of Lamb Highlights alongside some of Hackett’s best solos and the essential Genesis Greats.

Accompanying Steve for these dates will be long-standing musicians Roger King (keyboards), Nad Sylvan (vocals), Jonas Reingold (bass, backing vocals), Rob Townsend (saxophone, flutes, additional keyboards) and for this North American tour, Nick D’Virgilio on drums.

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Date Change for Illinois R&R HOF Induction Ceremony

The Illinois Rock & Roll Museum Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony originally scheduled for Sunday, March 30th at the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet, IL has been rescheduled to Sunday, September 14th at 5:00 PM. All tickets for the original performance will be honored for the new date. If patrons are unable to attend the new date, they should reach out to the original point of purchase for a refund before March 28th. If tickets were purchased at the Rialto Box Office or for any other inquiries, contact the Box Office using the information below.

Rialto Box Office
Hours: M – F, Noon to 4:30 PM
Email: boxoffice@rialtosquare.com
Phone:815-726-6600

To purchase tickets, visit: www.rialtosquare.com/shows

The Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66 has rescheduled its annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony to Sunday, September 14th at 5:00 pm at the Rialto Square Theatre in downtown Joliet. The new date will combine both the 2024 and 2025 inductions as voted by the museum’s Charter Members.

“From Rock to Blues to Country, Heavy Metal, and more, it will be the largest group of Illinois-based singers, songwriters, and scheduled live performers on the Rialto’s stage in the history of the theatre,” said Ron Romero, museum Founder and CEO. “WGN Radio’s Bob Sirott will return as Master of Ceremonies and additional live performances are being added to the event every week.”

Confirmed 2024 Hall of Fame inductees scheduled to perform live include Grammy Award-winner singer/songwriter Richard Marx, Grammy-nominated heavy metal band Disturbed, Award-winning Country singer Suzy Bogguss, 3-time Grammy-nominated Chicago Blues legend Billy Branch with a live tribute to the revolutionary Chicago Blues musician/singer/songwriter Little Walter and the award-winning Marshall Thompson & The Chi-Lites. Iconic Chicagoland folk singer Bonnie Koloc and dynamic actor/singer/stage performer Skip Griparis will perform a live tribute to the late Steve Goodman. A special, surprise guest will lead the audience in singing Goodman’s “Go Cubs, Go!”

The evening will also feature Columbia College Chicago’s live musical/dance tribute to “Grease”, one of the world’s most successful movie musicals of all time based on the book, play, and songs written by Chicago-born songwriter Jim Jacobs and the late Warren Casey. Jacobs established a Musical Theatre Scholarship at the college and is scheduled to appear and accept his Hall of Fame Induction.

For more information, visit www.RoadToRock.org

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Rival Sons

Rival Sons play rock ‘n’ roll in its purest form without apology or pretense. They simply plug in, turn up, and rip on a path of their own. Along the way, they’ve architected a critically acclaimed catalog, including Pressure & Time [2011], Head Down [2012], Great Western Valkyrie [2014], Hollow Bones [2016], and FERAL ROOTS [2019]. The latter represented a creative and critical high watermark, scoring a pair of GRAMMY® Award nominations in the categories of “Best Rock Album” and “Best Rock Performance” for the single “Too Bad.” Elevating the band to another level, “Do Your Worst” vaulted to #1 at Rock Radio as their biggest hit to date, tallying north of 60 million streams and counting. Speaking to their impact, Rolling Stone attested, “Rival Sons have done their part to introduce new fans to rock.” Beyond sharing stages with everyone from Black Sabbath, The Rolling Stones, and AC/DC to Guns N’ Roses and Lenny Kravitz, they’ve ignited television shows such as The Late Late Show with James Corden. During 2021, they launched their own label Sacred Tongue Recordings distributed by Thirty Tigers, and celebrated the anniversary of their debut album with live-streamed performances from Catalina Island Casino.

Hand-picked by Black Sabbath for their final tour, they’ve held their own on stage with the greats like The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, and Lenny Kravitz in addition to blowing the roof off television staples such as The Late Late Show with James Corden, Jools Holland and Jimmy Kimmel.

In 2023, they continued to subvert expectations with two full-length LPs—DARKFIGHTER and LIGHTBRINGER. Though the genesis of these albums is intertwined, they also speak to the band’s perpetual progression forward.

The band once played over 250 shows in a year, they are regulars on the festival circuit both through Europe and North America. One of the most hard-working rock’n’roll bands out there, 2024 saw the band complete extensive European festival dates throughout the summer, then embark on the “Two headed-beast” tour with Clutch across North America. Look for Rival Sons touring in 2025 with Bush in Canada and various dates in Europe including some with Guns N’ Roses.

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CoComelon: Sing-A-Long Live

Round Room Live and Moonbug Entertainment today announced that their brand new show, CoComelon: Sing-A-Long LIVE, will start its North American tour this Spring, with a stop in Joliet on May 4th.This all new production, featuring the much loved characters of global phenomenon “CoComelon,” brings JJ, Cody, Nina and their friends from the beloved sensation to life in a never-before-seen show that will have families of all ages moving and grooving to the beat!

Tickets for CoComelon: Sing-A-Long LIVE will go on-sale Friday, February 21st, with pre-sales beginning today, Tuesday, February 18th. For tickets and additional information, visit Rialtosquare.com.
CoComelon’s favorite teacher Ms. Appleberry welcomes JJ, his friends and YOU to come along on a Melon Patch Musical field trip! In CoComelon: Sing-A-Long LIVE, dance and sing along with JJ, Nina, Cody, Cece and all of their friends to some of your favorite bops, including “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” “Wheels on the Bus,” “Animal Dance,” “Head Shoulders Knees

and Toes,” “Freeze Dance,” and many more! Jam with the fam and dance every chance you get in this new musical journey, coming to a city near you!

“We are thrilled to embark on the North American tour of CoComelon: Sing-A-Long LIVE, bringing this beloved brand to audiences across the U.S. and Canada,” said Stephen Shaw, Founder and Co-President of Round Room Live. “This tour continues our valued partnership with Moonbug Entertainment and will delight families worldwide by bringing Moonbug’s engaging content to life. As the leading producer of family entertainment, we are proud to create interactive and memorable experiences that families can cherish forever.”

“Singing and dancing along to CoComelon tunes is a huge part of why families love to watch CoComelon together,” said Susan Vargo, Head of Experiences, Moonbug Entertainment. “It’s exciting to bring this experience to life in a joyful event families won’t want to miss. After its success around the world, we’re delighted to share this experience with families in the U.S. and Canada.”

CoComelon: Sing-A-Long LIVE premiered in South Africa in November 2024, with stops in Capetown, Johannesburg, Durban and Dubai throughout November and December 2024. In addition to the US and Canada, the tour will visit many more new countries in 2025.

CoComelon follows JJ, his siblings, and friends on adventures that teach life skills through music. Created with child development experts, CoComelon is a global kids’ entertainment phenomenon, captivating audiences in over 80 countries with more than 4 billion monthly views on platforms like Netflix and YouTube. Available in more than 20 languages, it features hit spin-offs like CoComelon Classroom, Cody Time, JJ’s Animal Time, and Netflix’s CoComelon Lane. Since joining Moonbug Entertainment in 2020, the franchise has expanded into consumer products, streaming music, games, and live entertainment—bringing joy to families everywhere!

Fans can visit cocomelonontour.com now for tour dates and ticket information, and follow CoComelon on Tour social media for exclusive tour content.

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Bat Out Of Helloween: A Celebration of Meatloaf

This stunning concert is the only authentic reimagining of the legendary Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman songbook performed brilliantly by world-class alumni of Meat Loaf’s official band- the same musicians who brought his musical visions to life both in the studio and on stages around the world. Caleb Johnson returns with the band, having established his legitimacy as the premier lead vocalist for this timeless music through his powerful interpretations and furiously electrifying stage presence.

Led by Meat Loaf’s longtime record producer/ music director/ guitarist Paul Crook alongside fellow alumni John Miceli (drums), Randy Flowers (guitar), Lyssa Lynne (female lead/ backing vocals), Danny Miranda (bass) and including Andy Ascolese (piano), Mark Kelt (piano) and Kiley Baxter (featured vocals), the band and Caleb perform a thoughtfully curated set list of Meat Loaf’s best loved classics such as “Bat Out of Hell”, “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” and “I Would Do Anything For Love”.

Created & produced by Paul Crook, this is the only band that was officially endorsed by Meat Loaf.

“Do not miss this! This is the closest you could possibly get… This is NOT a tribute band but Meat’s incredible, actual band. Singer, Caleb, has all the power and glory of Meat in his glory days and this band ROCKS!! – Brian May of Queen

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Buddy Guy:  Damn Right Encore with special guest Ronnie Baker Brooks

At age 87, Buddy Guy is a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, a major influence on rock titans like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, a pioneer of Chicago’s fabled West Side sound, and a living link to the city’s halcyon days of electric blues. Buddy Guy has received 8 GRAMMY Awards, a 2015 Lifetime Achievement GRAMMY Award, 38 Blues Music Awards (the most any artist has received), the Billboard Magazine Century Award for distinguished artistic achievement, a Kennedy Center Honor, and the Presidential National Medal of Arts. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #23 in its “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.”

In 2019, Buddy Guy won his 8th and most recent GRAMMY Award for his 18th solo LP, “The Blues Is Alive And Well”.

In July of 2021, in honor of Buddy Guy’s 85th birthday, PBS American Masters released “Buddy Guy: The Blues Chase The Blues Away”, a new documentary following his rise from a childhood spent picking cotton in Louisiana to becoming one of the most influential guitar players of all time. The documentary features new interviews with Buddy Guy, Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, John Mayer, Gary Clark Jr, and more. Watch the full documentary at PBS Online here.

Though Buddy Guy will forever be associated with Chicago, his story actually begins in Louisiana. One of five children, he was born in 1936 to a sharecropper’s family and raised on a plantation near the small town of Lettsworth, located some 140 miles northwest of New Orleans. Buddy was just seven years old when he fashioned his first makeshift “guitar”—a two-string contraption attached to a piece of wood and secured with his mother’s hairpins.

In 1957, he took his guitar to Chicago, where he would permanently alter the direction of the instrument, first on numerous sessions for Chess Records playing alongside Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and the rest of the label’s legendary roster, and then on recordings of his own. His incendiary style left its mark on guitarists from Jimmy Page to John Mayer. “He was for me what Elvis was probably like for other people,” said Eric Clapton at Guy’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2005. “My course was set, and he was my pilot.”

Seven years later, July 2012 proved to be one of Buddy Guy’s most remarkable years ever. He was awarded the 2012 Kennedy Center Honor for his lifetime contribution to American culture; earlier in the year, at a performance at the White House, he even persuaded President Obama to join him on a chorus of “Sweet Home Chicago.” Also in 2012, he published his long-awaited memoir, When I Left Home.

These many years later, Buddy Guy remains a genuine American treasure and one of the final surviving connections to an historic era in the country’s musical evolution.

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Rialto Square Theatre warns consumers of 3rd party ticket brokers

The Rialto Square Theatre wants to warn ticket buyers to beware when purchasing tickets through third-party ticket brokers. Don’t be deceived by third-party ticket resellers charging inflated prices for tickets to Rialto Square Theatre events. If the price of a ticket for a Rialto Square Theatre event seems extremely high there is a good possibility that you are not ordering tickets directly from us.4

The Rialto Square Theatre does not endorse these third-party resellers. If buying tickets online make sure that you are ordering through Ticketmaster, our only authorized online ticket seller, and not a third-party reseller that seeks to profit from the attractions performing at the Rialto Square Theatre. Tickets may be purchased online through Ticketmaster at http://www.ticketmaster.com/venue/57397/. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Rialto box office located at 102 N. Chicago Street, Joliet, IL.

If a ticket is purchased via a third-party reseller, we have no way to assist you should any problems arise, such as lost tickets or refunds for a canceled event. Also, our ticketing system only recognizes tickets that have been purchased directly through Ticketmaster. If you choose to purchase through an unofficial ticket broker you must print your ticket as we are unable to scan via mobile device. A ticket purchased via a third-party reseller may not ultimately be a valid ticket.

We hope you continue to enjoy your experience at the Rialto Square Theatre as we endeavor to ensure our patrons receive the best customer service at all of our performances. Thank you again for your continued patronage!

Such as a lost ticket, unaccepted ticket transfers, or refunded tickets for a canceled event.

If you choose to purchase through a ticket broker, you must accept the ticket transfer through the email address you provided to the broker when the order was placed. You must have the Ticketmaster app downloaded to have access to the tickets. The barcode MUST be scanned at the front door in order to be granted access to the event.

Shamrockin’ Good Time

This year’s Shamrockin’ event will celebrate Irish culture from across the pond, our neighbor Chicago, right here in Joliet! It will include live artists performing traditional and contemporary Irish music, Irish dancers, bagpipers, and many others.

New to the lineup, and headlining, will be Finbar MacCarthy. An authentic Irish balladeer with a focus on pub songs and humor, MacCarthy describes his musical talent as being a jack of all instruments, master of none. Featured performers include former “All-Ireland Singing Champion” Gavin Coyle, former “Lord of The Dance” fiddler Anne Hatfield, the amazing Max Dunne, and favorites John Condron & Friends who will be welcoming all with a traditional Irish Session in the Rotunda. There will be Pipe & Drums marching us in and Irish dancers to get our toes tapping.

In addition to music, there will be an Irish Costume Contest, with winners selected for adults and children, raffles and 50/50, a selfie station, and much more!

Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for children 12 and under. They are available online or at the Rialto Box Office. Doors open at 6:00 PM, and the performance starts promptly at 7:00 PM.

Come join us! All proceeds benefit the Rialto Square Theatre Foundation.

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