Michael McDonald, Boz Scaggs, and Styx electrify summer at the AMP

Northwest Arkansas - The Walmart AMP in Rogers, Arkansas features name entertainers this summer. August 12 brings vocalists Michael McDonald and Box Scaggs to the stage in a joint concert and platinum award winners Styx arrive in Rogers September 1.

Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs

Michael McDonald is best known for his soulful tenor and baritone and for the richness of his voice. Formerly of The Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan, McDonald’s unmistakable sound has made him one of the world’s most sought-after session singers of our time. Add formidable songwriting and keyboard skills, and you have an artist who has been a singular musical presence for over four decades.

Beyond his hits with The Doobies, McDonald has lent his voice to records by an A-Z of artists, including Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Joni Mitchell, Vince Gill and Grizzly Bear. During the ‘80s and ‘90s, his solo career zoomed from success to success on the wings of evergreen hits like Sweet Freedom, On My Own (a duet with Patti LaBelle) and the Grammy-winning duet with James Ingram Yah Mo B There.

Boz Scaggs grew up in Oklahoma and Texas, where he met Steve Miller at St. Mark's Preparatory School in Dallas. He joined Miller's band, the Marksmen, as lead vocalist while Miller taught him guitar. Fans who have followed Boz Scaggs’ remarkable career dating back to the late Sixties with the Steve Miller Band, his solo triumphs with such classic albums as Silk Degrees and Middle Man, and the splendid assurance of late-period high points like Some Change and Dig, will instantly recognize Scaggs’ characteristically deft touch as a singer.

He brings a sly drawl to a funky workout like Li’l Millet and the Creoles’ Rich Woman, a conversational intimacy to Bobby Charles’ Small Town Talk, and an elegant delicacy to the Impressions’ I’m So Proud. His soul is effortless and deeply felt, never making a show of itself, but unmistakably evident in every lyric he delivers.

The performance is August 12 at 7:30 p.m. Gates open at 6 p.m. Tickets start at $41.

An Evening with Styx

The Walmart AMP is excited to announce Rock and Roll group Styx will perform An Evening with Styx on Thursday, September 1.

At the height of their commercial powers, Styx released a string of five platinum albums, including the #1 triple-platinum Paradise Theatre. After incessant touring, their national break came in 1975 with the #6 single Lady, featuring the blaring vocal triads that are a Styx trademark. From 1977 until their breakup in 1984, every one of their releases sold platinum or better: The Grand Illusion in 1977; Pieces of Eight (1978); Cornerstone in 1979; Paradise Theatre, and Kilroy Was Here in 1983.

The performance is September 1. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and music will begin at 7:30 p.m. Prices range $31 to $55.50 plus applicable fees.

Tickets for these performances can be purchased in person at the Walton Arts Center Box Office in Nadine Baum Studios, by calling (479) 443-5600 or by visiting www.WaltonArtsCenter.org.

The Walmart AMP (Arkansas Music Pavilion), a Walton Arts Center venue since February 2011, is Arkansas’ premier outdoor concert venue. The AMP has presented headlining concerts for the past 10 years, including rock, country and pop. In its permanent home in Pinnacle Hills at 5079 W. Northgate Rd., Rogers, Ark., the Walmart AMP has the largest outdoor stage house in Arkansas.

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