Blood Sweat & Tears to return to Newton

NEWTON — Blood, Sweat & Tears featuring Bo Bice returns to The Newton Theatre on Saturday, June 17, at 8 p.m.
Blood, Sweat & Tears is at the top of their game — with a multitude of solid gold hits, world class musicianship and vocal dynamo / pop phenomenon Bo Bice. Bobby Columby, original founder and drummer of BS&T, has fielded a team of the best contemporary musicians to create an all-star powerhouse of a band. Hits like Spinning Wheel, You’ve Made Me So Very Happy, When I Die, God Bless the Child and many more, helped them earn multiple Grammy Awards, Gold Records, and the adoration of millions of fans.
It’s been more than four decades since drummer/producer Bobby Colomby and friends assembled the first group to successfully blend rock and jazz into a genre-crossing sound and style. So successfully in fact, that the band’s second album, Blood, Sweat & Tears, topped the Billboard charts for many weeks and beat out the Beatles’ Abbey Road for the prestigious Album of the Year Grammy award. That album produced three major hit singles: You’ve Made me so Very Happy, Spinning Wheel, and And When I Die.
But now Colomby is looking for much more as he develops Blood Sweat & Tears into a contemporary voice, one that reaches beyond a single, nostalgic audience.
“I no longer want to target just one generation. That would be a mistake. With this updated version, I want this band to gain recognition with a wider audience. I want people of all ages to experience what this music has to offer”.
Colomby, the last member to leave the band from the first album in 1977, says “I think of this band like baseball’s Yankees. When you’re at a Yankee game you’re not going to see Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle or Lou Gehrig. What you do come to expect is a team of top-notch players upholding a tradition of winning. That’s the Yankee legacy. It’s what people expect from BS&T as well... brilliant musicians, singers, songs and arrangements”.
Colomby also describes the instrumental players chosen for Blood, Sweat & Tears in glowing terms. “This band, man for man, pound for pound, is better than the first version of BS&T. Without a doubt, they’re a ridiculously talented bunch.”
“The first version of BS&T,” adds Colomby, “was designed to introduce jazz to pop music. That was my passion... and still is.”
Towards that end, Blood, Sweat & Tears will perform their hits with spirit and enthusiasm, as if it was their first performance of those songs. The band will also introduce some new elements into every performance, including a segment devoted to “Songs We Wish We Had Recorded,” done in classic BS&T style.
Bobby Colomby’s enthusiastic comments underscore his excitement about the future. The arrival of this latest version of Blood, Sweat & Tears is the next chapter in a musical tale that stretches from the creativity and turbulence of the late ‘60s to the swiftly changing world of the 21st Century. The next invigorating phase in the continuing adventures of BS&T is about to begin.
“During the early years of Fox’s hit TV show “American Idol” Colomby received many phone calls from friends telling him to check out singer Bo Bice, saying that his was a fresh voice and that he did a masterful job singing Spinning Wheel. A well seasoned southern rock singer with a great stage presence that the audience just loves. “Many of my more musically knowledgeable buddies also suggested that I ask Bo to join the band. I’m pleased to say that that’s exactly what happened and by the reaction of audiences world wide it was a great match.”
Tickets for Blood, Sweat & Tears range from $54 to $69. Purchase tickets by visiting www.thenewtontheatre.com or contact the Box Office at 973-383-3700.