TEXARKANA, Ark. - Get your "Satisfaction" on Friday, June 4, at Crossties downtown with one of the best Rolling Stones tribute acts around performing in concert.
Satisfaction/The International Rolling Stones Show returns to Texarkana, the first time in several years since a Perot Theatre show, says frontman and the Mick Jagger in the crew, Chris LeGrand, who's originally from Texarkana. Doors open at 7 p.m. for an 8 p.m. start to this outdoor show.
For LeGrand, a return to sharing live music after putting the touring act to rest for much of the pandemic these past 14 months is a welcome change.
"We were, like everybody else, right in the middle of full-scale touring last mid-March. We were in Salt Lake City out with our Beatles-Rolling Stones double bill show," LeGrand said. They'd been out on the road for about six weeks, but then everything changed and they sent everyone in the show back home.
"The dominoes just started falling everywhere. I can't describe it any better as far as entertainment, sports. Everybody knows what happened," LeGrand said.
They thought things may improve by summer and then the fall, but it just wasn't happening. They tried a social distance concert, but people weren't ready to get out. They played a few one-off dates over the late fall and winter holidays, but otherwise it was a long hiatus.
"We all had to do some odd jobs," LeGrand said about alternative forms of income they needed to find. A PPP loan helped sustain them, too.
"It was pretty much survival, just like everybody else. Anybody in the entertainment arts - I don't care if you're a symphony player, Broadway dancer, lighting person, Willie Nelson's truck driver - it was tough for everybody," LeGrand reflected.
But with this Memorial Day weekend, they kick off a new tour that brings them to Texarkana and Texas after a swing through the Southeast.
"From there on it's going full on. We have about 50 shows scheduled for summer," LeGrand said. "We're adding things constantly. Everybody's anxious to get out there and just get back at it."
They recently did an afternoon rehearsal and everything fell into place pretty quickly without much rust, he said. LeGrand's cast all went out to get COVID-19 vaccinated and do their part.
Expect a straight-ahead rock-and-roll show with the greatest Rolling Stones hits and some rarities and a few acoustic numbers.
"We're just kind of getting it back and returning to rock," LeGrand said, adding, "We haven't played at home since we did the Perot show. That's been many years. So we're looking forward to coming back. These guys that have Crossties now, they've got a nice place set up out there. We're going to do our thing outdoors, we're going to do an outdoor show."
He expects a big crowd with some of their friends in attendance, people they haven't seen in a long time.
"It's always good to come home and play," LeGrand said about going full steam ahead with concerts. For them, he said, it looks like life will get back to normal.
"There's nothing better than getting with a group of people and enjoying some live music and seeing some friends, especially being outside and you've got good, fresh air," LeGrand said. He suspects doing so will help the memory of the past 14 months subside for a spell.
The current lineup has LeGrand as the only Texas performer, along with Dom Lanzo as Keith Richards, Jimmy Babu as Ron Wood, John Wade as Bill Wyman and Joe Rotondo as Charlie Watts. Cody Pappas and Wade Fowler of the Texarkana area are former members of the lineup and still part of the family, LeGrand said.
"Both of those guys are still two of my best friends in the world and they're still part of the family. They're the number ones on the call list," LeGrand said.
This concert is an all-ages show, but the bar is only open to those 21 and up.
(Tickets: $15 advance general admission; $200 for a table for eight. Get tickets at Outhousetickets.com via the Crossties website at CrosstiesTexarkana.com. Crossties is located at 324 E. Broad St. More info on Satisfaction: RollingStoneShow.com.)