UPDATE: Downtown Development has confirmed that Steppenwolf and Loverboy will be playing at End of Summer Jam.
End of Summer Jam organizers are attempting to bring Steppenwolf and Loverboy to Muncie in hopes of saving this year’s concert.“If it takes one hundred hours a week for it to happen we’ll work our butts off,” Cheryl Crowder, event coordinator for Downtown Development, said.According to organizers, they are still working with William Morris Agency to book a replacement. As of press time, Downtown Development was still trying to confirm Steppenwolf, who rose to popularity in the 1960s with its hits “Magic Carpet Ride,” “Born to be Wild” and “Rock Me”, and Loverboy, whose hits include “Working for the Weekends” and “This Could Be the Night.” They would join Foghat as part of the concert’s line-up.“It’s either these guys or nothing,” Brian Lough, executive director of Downtown Development, said. Downtown Development has been in a rush since August 25th to find a new headliner for the concert when it received news that original headliner Lynyrd Skynyrd, whose most popular hits include “Freebird” and “Sweet Home Alabama,” would not be able to perform.
According to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Web site, the band was forced to cancel its shows through October 2 due to rehabilitation time needed for lead singer Johnny Van Zant after throat surgery to remove a vocal cord polyp. Van Zant also suffers from acute and chronic vocal cord inflammation.
Organizers were working with Journey as a possible replacement. Journey became one of the biggest rock bands of the 1970s and 80s with its hits “Don’t Stop Believing” and “Wheel in the Sky.”
“Journey has always been one that we wanted for the Jam,” Crowder said.
But complications with travel arrangements lead to the band pulling out as a possible headliner Wednesday night, according to Crowder
End of Summer Jam started as a classic rock concert and has been an annual event for the past three years. Past performers include Grand Funk Railroad, Foreigner and the Little River Band. Last year’s lineup featured Peter Frampton and Kansas.
According to Crowder, End of Summer Jam fans have been calling saying they didn’t care how popular the band replacement is, they just love having quality music in their hometown and being able to be home in 15 minutes after the show.
“We’re not ready to give [End of Summer Jam] up ... but we are coming close to not having enough time,” Crowder said.
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