Stage

The Taste of Newport appeals to all your senses, not just your taste buds! Your ears will be in for a treat as some of the biggest names in entertainment jam on the Taste of Newport Sound Stage. And best of all, live entertainment will be featured continuously throughout the weekend and is included with your admission! While you're enjoying some of the best food around, we'll keep the finger-snappin', toe-tappin', foot-stompin tunes going all weekend.

Click on the right for a PDF of the concert schedule...

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17

GIN BLOSSOMS

With such infectious melodies from multi-platinum hits including "Hey Jealousy," "Found Out About You," "Until I Fall Away," "Allison Road," "Follow You Down," "Til I Hear It From You," and "Mrs. Rita," Gin Blossoms have had seven crossover hits on five radio formats. Nominated for a Grammy, they have also contributed to platinum selling soundtracks like Wayne's World 2, Empire Records and How to Lose A Guy in 10 days."

Successful tour dates demonstrated that the many fans who cherished New Miserable Experience (which has sold more than four million copies in the U.S.) and Congratulations…I'm Sorry (which has sold more than one million).

"Hey Jealousy" would reach #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #4 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks, largely fueling the success of the album New Miserable Experience. The following year, "Found Out About You", would also reach #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and climb to #1 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks. Between their debut and second albums, the Gin Blossoms provided the single "Til I Hear It from You" for the Empire Records soundtrack. It reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Their second major album, Congratulations I'm Sorry, was released in 1996, yielding one top ten hit, "Follow You Down" - #9 Billboard Hot 100.

Major Lodge Victory was released by Hybrid Recordings on August 8, 2006, and "Learning the Hard Way" was the first single. Major Lodge Victory debuted at number 159 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Gin Blossoms had last appeared on the chart during the week of July 13, 1996, with their previous album, Congratulations… I'm Sorry.

Gin Blossoms released a live album, Live In Concert, on May 15, 2009. This album contains live recordings of the band's hits such as "Hey Jealousy" and "Follow You Down", as well as recent singles such as "Learning the Hard Way" and "Long Time Gone," and also a live cover of Elton John's "Rocket Man" The Gin Blossoms recently announced the release of their new studio album, No Chocolate Cake, in stores September 28, 2010.

Friday at the Taste will be another memorable night with world class entertainment.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18

FOREIGNER

The name is legendary, the music both majestic and timeless. With worldwide album sales exceeding seventy million, over thirty years on the road, and an impressive run of fourteen Top 20 hits, Foreigner's music resonates across generations.

More current and vibrant than ever in a career that continues to bring acclaim and applause from critics and fans worldwide, Foreigner is one of the most noteworthy rock bands on the planet.

Foreigner "4" spent more weeks on the Billboard chart at number one than any album by AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, U 2, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Genesis, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, and any artist in Atlantic Record's 60 year history.

Foreigner has sixteen Top Thirty hits, with nine top ten hits. Their hits include "I Want To Know What Love Is", "Waiting For A Girl Like You", "Double Vision", "Hot Blooded", "Urgent", "Feels Like The First Time", "I Don't Want To Live Without You", "Say You Will", "Cold As Ice", "Head Games", "Blue Morning, Blue Day", "Juke Box Hero." Their hit single "Waiting For A Girl Like You" was #2 on the singles chart for a total of fourteen weeks. That is a record in the history of Billboard magazine. It helped drive Foreigner to #49 on Billboard's Hot 100 All Time Top Artists Chart. To put that in perspective, The Eagles are #54, Fleetwood Mac are #73, and Aerosmith are #90.

Foreigner's leader and founder Mick Jones wrote the band's # 1 worldwide hit "I Want to Know What Love Is", which was the first single released from Mariah Carey's latest album. He also wrote or co-wrote every Foreigner song, and produced or co-produced every album. He produced Billy Joel's Storm Front and Van Halen's 5150, the career best selling albums of both artists, and he has written songs with artists as diverse as Ozzy Osbourne and Eric Clapton with whom he wrote "Bad Love". Eric received a Grammy for that one!

2010 promises to be another year of achievement for the band, as they perform to enthusiastic, sold-out crowds worldwide. Featuring Foreigner's hits and new songs, the band's first album of new material in more than 15 years. CAN'T SLOW DOWN is a three-disc masterpiece that includes 13 new songs, ten remixed versions of Foreigner classics that bring new energy to classic hits like "Urgent," "Cold As Ice," "Hot Blooded," "Juke Box Hero" and "Feels Like The First Time", and a live DVD filmed during last year's European tour. Released on Rhino Records in Fall 2009 and sold exclusively via Wal-mart, the album is garnering rave reviews.

Saturday at the Taste of Newport is going to rock like no other year!

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19

pat benatar and neil giraldo

More than three decades ago, Pat Benatar began breaking rules and blazed a new trial for female rock stars.  Pat was bold, self-assured, and independent.  She was alluring but not exploitive.  She was vulnerable but not weak.  She was strong-minded without being hardhearted.

Songs such as "Love Is a Battlefield," "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," "We Live For Love," and "Heartbreaker" became anthems for a new attitude.  At the dawn of MTV, Benatar was the image of the female rocker for an entire generation of young woman, and the young men who loved them. That generation has grown up with her and others have walked down the path she helped pave.

Still going strong, Benatar has been married for 28 years to guitarist, songwriter producer, collaborator and soul mate Neil Giraldo . The parents of two daughters, Pat and Neil have been touring almost non-stop for over three decades.

Benatar is acknowledged as the leading female rock vocalist of the '80s.  During this time she was nominated nine times for Grammy Awards for Best Rock Vocal Performance (female), winning an unprecedented four Grammy Awards in consecutive years from 1980 to 1983.  Benatar has also won three American Music Awards.  Of the sixteen original and compilation albums released during her 30+ year career, seven were certified platinum and three were certified gold.  One of the most popular performers in rock, she is also one of the most recognized and admired female artists.

Benatar debuted with the platinum album In The Heat Of The Night (1979) and both "Heartbreaker" and "We Live For Love" charted in the Top 40.  Her next album, Crimes Of Passion (1980), rocketed to #2, reaching quadruple platinum, and including her first Top 10 hit, the gold-certified "Hit Me With Your Best Shot."  The album also spawned the video for "You Better Run," the second ever to air on MTV, which debuted that year.  In addition, Crimes Of Passion copped the first of her Grammy Awards.

That was just the beginning.  Her next album, Precious Time (1981) went double platinum and outdid its predecessor by hitting #1.  Fire And Ice brought Benatar her second Grammy.  Other platinum albums followed.  Get Nervous (1982) was Top Five and featured the Grammy winning "Shadows Of The Night," Live From Earth (1983) boasted the gold, Grammy winning, Top Five hit "Love Is A Battlefield" (and it's classic video) Tropico (1984) shined its spotlight on the Top Five charting "We Belong," nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance (female).

The gold Seven The Hard Way (1984) featured Top 10 Grammy-nominated "Invincible" as the theme song for the film The Legend of Billie Jean. Between 1988 and 1989, Benatar released Wide Awake in Dreamland that spun off the Top 20 hit "All Fired Up." The song earned her another Grammy nomination along with another nomination for "Let's Stay Together."  In August 2001, her greatest hits compilation Best Shots was certified platinum.

Over the years Benatar has been busy in front of the camera appearing in cameo roles in several hit TV shows including WB's Charmed, ABC's Dharma and Greg and on the Fox series That 80's Show.  Her story has also been featured on shows like A&E Biography,  Lifetime's Intimate Portrait and on VH-1's hit series Behind The Music. Most recently, Benatar has been working on her long awaited autobiography "Between a Heart and a Rock Place" where she talks about her life, rock 'n' roll and how her generation changed music forever.

Thirty years after starting her recording career, Pat has found that unique balance between family and career.  Continuing to do what she loves, Pat Benatar is still rocking.