With Veterans Day just a week away, VETRELIEF and the Tampa Bay area radio station 98.7 The Shark sponsored CoralHead MusicFest in Pinellas Park, FL on Saturday November 2, 2019. CoralHead MusicFest is a charity organization that raises money to benefit American Veterans. The American Legion Riders of American Legion Post 154, Marathon, Florida were also a big help in the days’ success.

The lineup for this great day of timeless rock and roll in England Bros Park was Jen, Hairdaze the Amazing 80s Rock Show, Mitch Perry Group, Slaughter, Jackyl, and Sebastian Bach of Skid Row. The schedule kicked off on time at 12:00 pm and stayed on schedule for the remainder of the day. The efficiency of the production was worth noting, as the festival ran flawlessly under partly cloudy skies. Plenty of restroom facilities, food vendors, and trash collection to handle the large crowd. As a result, everyone in attendance had a wonderful time.

Jen of CoralHead MusicFest kicked off the day, performing acoustically, as the fans came into the park with their lawn chairs, staking out their areas on the grass in front of the stage. Hairdaze was up next at 1:30pm with their set of 80’s rock and roll music, as the crowd numbers continued to grow.

Mitch Perry Group hit the stage at 3:00 pm as temperatures were decreasing due to cloud cover. But, the atmosphere in the audience was just heating up. Mitch Perry has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Producers Choice Awards in 2017. Perry has played with Lita Ford, Cher, Edgar Winter, and currently is a member of Sweet. His guitar performance was mesmerizing, and the bands vocalist, Shelly Bonet, really needs to be mentioned as her tone was just incredible. The band is currently working on a new album that should be an addition to any one’s collection.

Band:

Mitch Perry: Guitar

Tal Bergman: Drummer

Dan McNay: Bass

Shelly Bonet: Vocals

Next up were three bands that defined the 1990’s rock scene. Slaughter hit the stage at 3pm. Fronted by lead singer Mark Slaughter, Slaughter played a mixture of fan favorite covers from Led Zeppelin, Queen, The Rolling Stones, and The Who. Of course they also played Slaughter’s highest charting singles from their first album “Stick It to Ya”, which went double platinum in the US, featuring “Up All Night.” Lead Guitarist Jeff “Blando” Bland masterfully shredded the strings of his guitar, belting out heavy riffs. Bassist Dana Strum, with his flying locks, held down the beat while covering the entire stage. Joining Strum in the rhythm section, on loan from Evanescence, drummer extraordinaire Will Hunt. This band is amazingly seasoned and talented and puts on a great rock and roll show. Blando and Strum have been touring all summer with Vince Neil, who was slotted to headline this event but had to cancel for reasons beyond his control.

I have been blessed to live in Orlando, Florida where the band members play in side projects throughout the year when they are not touring the world. They are great guys and musicians.

Band:

Mark Slaughter: Vocals/Guitar
Dana Strum: Bass/Vocals
Jeff “Blando” Bland: Guitar/Vocals

Will Hunt: Drums

Setlist:

The Wild Life
Burnin’ Bridges
Immigrant Song (Led Zeppelincover)
Spend My Life
Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelincover)
Good times bad times
We Will Rock You (Queencover)
Mad About You
Jumpin’ Jack Flash (The Rolling Stonescover)
Days Gone By
Real Love
Fly to the Angels
Up All Night
Won’t Get Fooled Again (The Who cover)

The Festival surprise was Jackyl, known as the hardest working band in history. They hold a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for performing 100 shows in 50 days, as well as performing 21 shows in 24 hours. Formed in 1991 in Georgia, with a mantra of “Always on Tour,” Jackyl was the last minute addition to cover the opening left by the cancellation of Vince Neil. Jackyl is hard hitting, in your face, and highly entertaining – everyone was on their feet their entire set. Singer Jesse James Dupree thanked the audience for inviting the band to the party! Jackyl wasn’t playing a concert; oh no, this was a party now and the crowd responded with the loudest cheering of the night. After the opening song and the declaration of the party starting, Dupree sprayed the crowd with what appeared to be bourbon from a bottle that he was drinking just before the band played “My Moonshine Kicks Your Cocaine’s Ass”. The set was hard driving rock from beginning to end. No ballads tonight, their set ended with the famous “The Lumberjack” song with Dupree playing a gas powered chainsaw. Truly a sight to see and a signature of the band’s show. I guess you could categorize this band as a cross between AC/DC and Lynyrd Skynyrd, they are highly entertaining and bring a lot of energy. I smiled the entire set.

Band:

Jesse James Dupree: Guitar/Vocals/Chainsaw

Roman Glick: Bass

Jeff Worley: Guitar

Chris Worley: Drummer

Setlist:

Moving into the headliner slot at 9:00 pm was Sebastian Bach, previously of Skid Row until his departure from the band 1996. On his current summer tour, Bach is performing Skid Row’s self titled album in its entirety. The album was released in 1989 and went multi-platinum, yielding four hit singles which brought the band worldwide popularity, “Youth Gone Wild“, “18 and Life“, “I Remember You” and “Piece of Me.” The following year the band earned an American Music Awards “Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock New Artist.”

Sebastian has always been an audience favorite and this night was no exception as the crowd pushed to get closer to the stage. I was feeling nostalgic, as the setlist was from thirty years past and was swept back to simpler times. From the average age of those in attendance, I am willing to bet I wasn’t the only one feeling the good old days.

The night was great rock and roll entertainment and everyone at England Bros Park had a wonderful time, and the reason for hosting this event was to raise money for our veterans. All in all this was a highly successful event and I recommend to anyone thinking about attending a CoralHead MusicFest in the future to get your tickets! You won’t be disappointed; this organization knows how to throw a party.

Band:

Sebastian Bach: Vocals

Bobby Jarzombek: Drums
Brent Woods: Guitar
Kevin Chown: Bass

Setlist:

Tornado (Skid Row song)
Forever (Skid Row song)
Big Guns (Skid Row song)
Sweet Little Sister (Skid Row song)
Can’t Stand the Heartache (Skid Row song)
Piece of Me (Skid Row song)
18 and Life (Skid Row song)
Rattlesnake Shake (Skid Row song)
Youth Gone Wild (Skid Rowsong)
Here I Am (Skid Row song)
Makin’ a Mess (Skid Row song)
I Remember You (Skid Row song)
Midnight (Skid Row song)
Encore:
Slave to the Grind (Skid Row song)
The Threat (Skid Row song)
In a Darkened Room (Skid Row song)
Monkey Business

https://mnprmagazine.com/sebastian-bach-headlines-the-coralhead-musicfest-in-pinellas-park-florida-november-2-2019/