March 17, 2023

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Gerry Buckley and Dewey Bunnell have been friends since high school.  They met in while attending school in London, along with Dan Peek, while their fathers were stationed there while they were in the Air Force.

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That friendship and musical ability led them to form America, a multi-platinum selling band in the 1970s with several Top Ten hits.

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Buckley and Bunnell, along with their outstanding backing band, brought America to the Canton Palace Theater on Thursday night for a little pre-St. Patrick's Day celebration.

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The show started with a great version of "Tin Man" that segued into "You Can Do Magic."

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After "Daisy Jane," Gerry told the audience that they were going to play three songs from their first album, noting that all of them were on the first side of the record.  He later quipped, "that's vinyl speak."  So "Riverside," "I Need You" and "Here" were all played in succession.

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Of course several other hits were played like "Ventura Highway" and "Lonely People." 

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The fans were also treated to a few deep cuts like "Greenhouse" and "Hollywood" as well as two cover tunes, "Nowhere Man" and "California Dreamin'."

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In a classy move, the duo not only introduced the backing band, but they also introduced their road crew as well.

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The main set ended with the one, two punch of "Sandman" which included great images of the Vietnam era, and "Sister Golden Hair." 

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Of course the band returned to have the crowd sing along to their biggest hit, "Horse With No Name."

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After fifty-three years on the road, America is still sounding great!

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Review and photos by Greg Drugan

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