In the late 1970s, Shaun Cassidy was King of the Airwaves with a hit TV show (“The Hardy Boys Mysteries”) and a couple of Top 10 albums. During the 1980s, Shaun starred in the TV series “Breaking Away”, appeared in “General Hospital” and guest-starred in a few episodic TV shows such as “Matlock” and “Murder She Wrote” while starting to raise his family. During the 1990s, Shaun worked mostly on the theatre stage, including a run on Broadway with his half brother, David Cassidy, in “Blood Brothers.”
While working in theatre, Shaun also started learning the art of script writing and would soon be heading back into the world of television by contributing to shows such as “Cold Case” and “Blue Bloods” and creating and producing critically-acclaimed shows such as “American Gothic”, “Invasion”, “Roar”, “Ruby and the Rockits” (which featured David and younger brother Patrick in the cast), and the current NBC hit show “New Amsterdam”.
Last weekend, in the small picturesque town of Buellton, located in Wine Country of California’s Central Coast, Shaun returned to the concert stage for the first time since 1980. Shaun brought back to life some of his biggest hits including the searing opening song “That’s Rock n Roll” as well as a rendition of Ricky Nelson’s “Teenage Idol”, and a moving tribute to his brother, David, which included Shaun singing a number from “Blood Brothers” with his keyboardist/background vocalist, Kathleen Sieck.
Interspersed between the infectious and nostalgic songs, Shaun shared stories and memories about being a teen idol, living in the elation and oddity of the celebrity “fishbowl”, writing songs at his best friend’s house, his first job, talking about girls and life with his big brother who slept on the top bunk, growing up in a Hollywood family, and being a father.
Shaun’s band was an ensemble of incredibly talented musicians who were as enthusiastic as their leader at center stage to bring the music to life. In addition to keyboardist, Sieck, the band are George Pendergast on drums, John Ormond on bass, Jason Gonzalez and Sven Holcomb on guitars, and Matt Morrish on saxophone.
The shows were performed on a beautiful, intimate stage back-dropped by velvet curtains and mood lighting at the cozy Standing Sun Winery and Art Gallery located at 92 2nd Street in Buellton, California. For a list of upcoming performances at the winery, visit: www.standingsunwines.com.
Shaun and his band will be doing a tour of the East Coast this coming Summer. Hopefully this is just the beginning for even more live shows in the future as Shaun and his band left fans wanting for even more after a weekend of fun and entertaining performances! For dates and ticket information, follow Shaun Cassidy on his social media outlets via Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Shaun Cassidy during a Meet and Greet session before his show.
Patrick Cassidy after the show on Friday night.
Saxophonist Matt Morrish, who also plays with The English Beat.
Shaun and Company on stage at Standing Sun Wines.
Photo by Andrew Thill.
