By the time classic rock giants Chicago take to the stage at Montclair’s Wellmont Theater on Friday, May 20, the audience will have been sufficiently warmed up by one of NJ’s own long-running show bands, The Infernos. Perhaps the crowd will be downright sweaty, actually, because The Infernos are known to get an audience on their feet and dancing. Opening for Chicago is the highlight of the band’s 34 year career, and it will give them the opportunity to perform their own original music, instead of the classic covers they’ve become known for.
“We’re trying to break out of playing covers, and get to the next level with our music,” the band’s founder Bobby Wells — a longtime Bloomfield resident — told Baristanet in a telephone interview. “Being affiliated with Chicago gives us instant credibility.”
Wells and his band members met Chicago around four years ago, and he described a great feeling of camaraderie from the very beginning. The two bands struck up a friendship, and Chicago supported The Infernos’ efforts to write and perform their own music. When Chicago booked The Wellmont, they invited The Infernos to join the gig.
Written with lead singer Kenny Simmons, Wells describes his band’s original music as eclectic, and includes styles ranging from club and dance to pop and rock in his description.
Wells agreed that his band is authentically Jersey. “We’re a melting pot of the best local talent, and have become a NJ legend over the past three decades.” Unabashedly, he likened The Infernos to another band whose roots are in Essex County, Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, The Four Seasons. “We’re from the same neighborhoods and played a lot of the same clubs,” he said.
Friday’s concert will kick off The Inferno’s summer Revolution Evolution Tour, which will include a stop in Brookdale Park on August 4.
Wells has offered Baristanet a pair of tickets to Friday’s Wellmont show. We’ll give them to the person with the most compelling story of listening to The Infernos. We know many of you have seen them, probably multiple times. Share your stories as comments. We’ll pick our favorite at 5 p.m. today.
For tickets and information, click here.
What ?? No PWR luminaries are available for the gig ?
I saw the Infernos at an outdoor show last year and they were surprisingly good. Tried to get everyone in the crowd involved. Would love to see them again.