Updated April 2
This is the 100th posting on The Atomic Grog. It’s been nearly 10 months since the blog launched in late April 2011 with high hopes for bringing the coolest retro classic music to South Florida, along with intensive coverage of events, music, art, cocktails and culture.
It was a whirlwind of activity right from the start. We competed against some of the world’s top mixologists in the Miami Rum Renaissance Festival, helped organize the 10th annual Hukilau for hundreds of the world’s most devoted Tiki aficionados, then presented two concerts by surf guitar king Dick Dale.
With our first anniversary (along with another Rum Renaissance and Hukilau) fast approaching, we’re thrilled to also announce the return of Dick Dale, the 74-year-old legend who has shrugged off cancer and diabetes to continue to amaze fans worldwide with his groundbreaking guitar playing and impeccable live shows.
Dale will again be performing back-to-back nights in South Florida, this time on Saturday-Sunday, April 21-22. You can catch him at Respectable Street in West Palm Beach on April 21, and at Churchill’s Pub in Miami on April 22. Advance tickets are $20 plus service fees. They will be $25 the day of the show.
Dale will again be touring with his 19-year-old son, Jimmy, a blossoming drummer whose youthful enthusiasm has given him a late-career boost as well as a solid bandmate who can connect with a new generation of fans.
Both shows will also feature some of the top South Florida underground surf and rock bands, including Charlie Pickett, Cutback, and Skinny Jimmy and the Stingrays. The full lineups are listed below.
To say Dick Dale’s music is multi-generational is an understatement. His career spans more than 50 years, from the early days of surf music (which he’s credited with inventing in the 1950s, before The Beach Boys) to many rediscoveries by new fans over the decades. The Dick Dale revival hit its stride in the 1990s when the movie Pulp Fiction featured his signature song, Miserlou.
He hasn’t looked back since, battling though a 2008 bout with cancer and completing a methodical comeback with last year’s triumphant tour. Dale continues to book his own concerts and travel around the country in an RV with his wife and son at an age most of his peers have either retired or sold out by playing county fairs and casinos.
We’re glad he remains true to his roots and his fans, and couldn’t be more thrilled that we’ll get another chance to marvel at the ageless guitar master. It’s the perfect climax for Year One of The Atomic Grog.
*** Saturday, April 21 – Dick Dale with Cutback and Skinny Jimmy and the Stingrays at Respectable Street, 518 Clematis St., West Palm Beach. (561) 832-9999. Ages 18 and older welcome. Tickets $20 in advance online at Slammie.MusicToday.com and by phone at (800) 594-TIXX, $25 at the door, 8 p.m. Facebook event | See the flier
*** Sunday, April 22 – Dick Dale with Charlie Pickett, Skinny Jimmy and the Stingrays, Enough, Heartline Fits and Turboretardo at Churchill’s Pub, 5501 N.E. Second Ave., Miami. (305) 757-1807. Tickets $20 in advance online at Slammie.MusicToday.com and by phone at (800) 594-TIXX, $25 at the door, 8 p.m. Facebook event | Flier
Past Atomic Grog coverage
* Dale shreds all doubts with sizzling shows
* Dick Dale playing the tour of his life | What makes Dick Dale the ‘King’?
* Tour was 7 years in the making
Official sites
DickDale.com | The Dick Dale virtual museum