The Ace Cafe, in conjunction with legendary powersports brands Bell Helmets, Kawasaki, Metzeler, AIMExpo, and MOTOTV, have jointly announced that “Stray Cats” bassist Lee Rocker and his band will perform a free concert on Saturday, October 18, just outside of the AIMExpo show floor at Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center (OCCC). As the doors close on the third day of AIMExpo 2014 —America’s first combined trade, media and consumer powersports event — Rocker and the band will take the stage at 7 p.m. for what is sure to be an amazing rockabilly performance. All AIMExpo attendees with either an admission ticket or a show badge are welcome to attend the intimate performance.
The ”Stray Cats” were a New York-based rockabilly band that consisted of Rocker on stand up bass, Brian Setzer on guitar and vocals, and “Slim” Jim Phantom on drums. The trio produced a slew of hits from its inception in 1979 and have performed on and off as a group across four decades. Monster hits “Rock This Town”, “Stray Cat Strut”, “(She’s) Sexy +17”, and the smash “Rumble in Brighton” — a nod to the infamous 1964 conflict between the mods and rockers — sat at the top of the U.S. music charts in the early 1980’s. Since the “Stray Cats” broke up in the mid 1980’s, Rocker never stopped and is widely considered to be one of the most influential upright bass players in rock n’ roll history, and has been nominated for a Grammy Award.
“The spirit, history and culture of Rockabilly lives on at the Ace Cafe,” said Lee Rocker. “With some of the greatest ever — Gene Vincent visiting on one of his tours, even The Beatles are reported to have visited before they became famous. I was thrilled to work with George and Ringo, Carl Perkins, and Scotty Moore in my career, so I’m excited to continue the Ace tradition of great Rockabilly at AIMExpo.”
Ace Cafe, the legendary British hub for vintage motorcycle, car and music events, announced plans to open its first U.S. location in Orlando in Spring 2015. The cafe was an exhibitor at the inaugural AIMExpo last October, and will again showcase an impressive collection of vintage motorcycles on the exhibitor floor. This year’s Lee Rocker concert, in collaboration with BELL Helmets, Kawasaki, Metzeler, and MOTOTV, is the next step in the partnership between AIMExpo and the Ace, and serves to further cement the cafe’s presence in Orlando’s increasingly-popular motorcycle scene.
More than 450 exhibitors have committed for 2014 and more are being added daily. Stay tuned to AIMExpo USA and keep up to date on the continued progress by visiting AIMExpo’s social media pages. “Like” the American International Motorcycle Expo at their AIMExpo Facebook page, and “Follow” on Twitter: @AIMExpo.
Awesome!
May have to take some of my art work out there.