John Parr with Sam Llanas formally of the BoDeans and D&M

John Parr: Few musicians from England have made such a mark on America as John Parr has. Calling America his second home, he has spent decades building a successful career and winning over fans from one end of the country to the other. His career started years ago, and he still continues to delight fans domestically.

Parr, who is a native of England, first found fame in America with the song he is probably best known for, “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion),” the popular 80's tune that he wrote and performed. Around that same time, he had another hit song that climbed the charts, called “Naughty, Naughty.” As a Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter, he has enjoyed a long and successful career as a musician in America.

With Parr’s latest album, he returned to his second home for an extensive tour, to celebrate his new 2-CD album, titled “Letter to America.” The album features some of his popular hits from years gone by, as well as a variety of new songs. “Letter to America” will also feature such new hits as “The Minute I Saw You” and “The Best a Man Can Get.” In addition, he wrote the song “Comin’ Home” about his personal journey back to America to play music, reflective of everyone’s journey home after being away.

Throughout his career, Parr has savored a wide range of experiences. Having sold more than 10 million albums, he has worked with a variety of top industry names, including Tina Turner, Bryan Adams, Meatloaf, Journey, Richard Marx, the Beach Boys, Celine Dion among others.  He has also collaborated on song writing with such people as Mutt Lange, Harold Faltermeyer, Marvin Hamlisch, David Foster and Roger Daltrey.

Sam Llanas (born in 1961) is a singer, acoustic guitarist, and songwriter in several rock and roots rock bands active from the 1980s to the 2000s, including the BoDeans and Absinthe. Sam is known for his unusual and distinctive voice.

Llanas was one of the founding members of the roots rock band the BoDeans, which he formed with high school friend Kurt Neumann in Waukesha, Wisconsin. In 1985, after adding Guy Hoffman (drums) in 1984 and Bob Griffin (bass), the quartet signed a contract with Slash/Warner Records and shortened their name to the BoDeans.

Under the guidance of producer T-Bone Burnett, they entered Hollywood's Sunset Sound Factory in October to record their first album. The critically acclaimed debut Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams was released in 1986. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band had several singles in the top 40 "mainstream rock" charts. In the mid-1990s, the band had two top 10 songs in the "Adult contemporary" charts.

The BoDeans took some time off in the late 1990s so Neumann and Llanas could record solo albums. Llanas founded Absinthe, with the help of Milwaukee musicians Jim Eannelli (guitars and bass) and Guy Hoffman (formerly of Oil Tasters and Violent Femmes, currently of Radio Romeo). They have released one album, 1998's A Good Day To Die. In 2011 Sam Llanas released 4 A.M. (The Way Home) and left the BoDeans to pursue his Solo career.

This will be a special accoustic concert.