Did Biggie play Dover, Delaware on October 21, 1995? No he did not. He played in Buffalo with Mary J. Blige. Was a stunning, timeless Globe poster printed for this DSU Homecoming lineup? Yes it was.
What other Delaware shows have you seen a flyer or poster for that was too good to be true? Let’s get a little collection going.
Mother's Day fell on May 11 in 2003, but the day prior on May 10, Third Eye Blind came through Delaware, as part of a small club tour attempting to stir up interest in their third album "Out of the Vein", which would come out a few days later.
First stop for the day as a short acoustic set at the 82nd annual Wilmington Flower Market in Rockford Park.
Their evening show would be at Stone Balloon in Newark - this tour was unique in that tickets were only sold on eBay. For the 20 date tour, the Newark show had the fewest listings on eBay and sold the fewest tickets on eBay. Newark also had the highest percentage of tickets sold via Buy-it-Now of any of the cities on the tour, at 88.19%.
Reference:
https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/third-eye-blind-links-with-ebay-for-spring-tour-71832/
In November 1996, A Tribe Called Quest had just released their fourth album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 (their first Billboard 200 chart-topper). Despite their success, the group's fun and lightness was transitioning into a darker more serious era.
A month before that in the same summer, Jay-Z - who up until this point had been a hype / side man for Jaz-O and Big Daddy Kane - released his first album Reasonable Doubt. However, this metaphorical passing of the torch never came to be on the stage of Memorial Hall at DSU due to fighting and shooting.
Tribe and go-go stars Backyard Band got into a confrontation, leading to Tribe leaving town after the fight. And Jay-Z was injured by a student mob during his backdoor exit after a shooting. Alas, despite this classic Globe poster advertising an epic bill - only Backyard Band and Case ended up performing before the chaos.
Werewolves of Thorogood
plus Malcolm X and Romero's Martin playing at the State
Miguel was still playing under the name Miguel Jontel when he played Mitchell Hall on UD campus in 2011
Who else did you see on campus before they blew up?
What do you think about some story time - Delaware history, eventually leading to Delaware music history?
Francis Gurney du Pont was the pioneer of American smokeless gunpowder, patenting process for its production in 1893. His son Alexis Felix du Pont Sr. founded St. Andrew's School (where Dead Poet’s Society was later filmed) in 1929. His son Alexis Felix du Pont, Jr. founded All American Aviation in 1938, which became U.S. Airways. A year later in 1939, Felix Jr built an estate and farm that he called Limestone - 24 room, fieldstone house in a wooded area. The farm came to be known as Carousel, and in 1958, Felix and his wife Marka created the Delaware Pony Club, which allowed New Castle County children to attend riding camps at Carousel. One day in 1967, Felix and Marka were out of town and left their 18 year old son Christopher home alone, and Christopher had a small gathering. Unbeknownst to the teenager, a cigarette smoldering in a downstairs couch sparked a blaze, and burned down part of the mansion. The family didn’t rebuild or move back in, but rather they donated their Carousel Farm to New Castle County in 1969, with the expressed sentiment that it be used for recreational purposes.
Now onto Delaware music history now that we've meandered here ... New Castle County sponsored an annual summer concert series (sometimes known as Monday Moonlight Music Concert) at Carousel Farm from 1977-1987, bringing some notable names to town ... the programming leaned toward folk and Americana ("Grassroots of American Traditional Sounds"), with Ola Belle Reed and long-running gospel group The Little Wonders (both from nearby Maryland) and Bob Paisley as mainstays annually. Brandywine Friends of Old Time Music co-presented a number of years of the series.
Some notable performers by year:
- 1977 - Frank Hovington, Balfa Brothers
- 1978 - Beausoleil
- 1979 - John Jackson
- 1980 - Del McCoury
- 1981 - Mick Moloney and Eugene O'Donnell
- 1982 - Clifton Chenier
- 1983 - Koko Taylor
- 1984 - John Lee Hooker
- 1985 - Bela Fleck, Buckwheat Zydeco, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells
- 1986 - Peter Rowan, Johnny Copeland
- 1987 - Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown
You can find this photo of Joshua Fit For Battle DATs and other historical artifacts from JFFB and other Delaware bands at our wiki. Head over to https://wiki.delawaremusichistory.com/wiki/joshua-fit-for-battle and generally at wiki.delawaremusichistory.com
Bob Marley's father passed away when he was 10 years old. His mom Cedella remarried to a man named Edward Booker, and they lived in Wilmington, DE at 2311 Tatnall Street. In the mid-70s, around the corner from their house, they owned a book and record store called Roots. Edward died in February 1976 and the store fell victim to burglary in September 1976 and closed. Cedella moved to Miami after the store's closing.
We are looking to document the Roots store that was on Market Street. We are seeking an address, historical ads, photos, etc
Olympia legends Unwound came through Delaware in 1994 at a show put on by Jade Tree Records. No, not *that* U Church, this was in Newark, DE at the Unitarian Universalist Church. Jade Tree artists Pitchblende (from DC) and Walleye played, as did Philly’s Franklin.
What churches did you see shows at in Delaware?