Unforgettable Fire Kicks Off 2023 With Back To Back Shows
Unforgettable Fire, the longest running U2 tribute band, returned to the live music scene this past weekend with back to back shows. On Friday night, January 13th, they returned to the Mauch Chunk Opera House in Jim Thorpe, PA, and followed that up on Saturday night with a performance at the Ardmore Music Hall in Ardmore, PA. Unforgettable Fire hasn’t played at either venue since last year at the same time, and both shows were SOLD OUT.
Unforgettable Fire at Mauch Chunk Opera House.
Nestled away in the mountains and along the Lehigh River, in the town of Jim Thorpe, lies the historic Mauch Chunk Opera House. The venue has been in operation for over 138 years, and their first show of 2023 hosted the incredible tribute band, Unforgettable Fire. Playing at Mauch Chunk has become an annual ritual for the band, and they didn’t disappoint. From the open chords of City of Blinding Lights, the crowd rushed the stage and was a fixture there the entire night. The band went into I Will Follow which raised the energy level of the 350+ audience tenfold, and then Beautiful Day, which had the full crowd approval as they sang along with every lyric. Some new songs were added to the setlist, including Song For Someone from the album Songs of Innocence, as well as their title song, Unforgettable Fire. The show closed with an incredible rendition of One. Despite the show ending, the audience refused to have their night end, so the band returned to the stage and played a two song encore of Vertigo and the ever crowd pleasing Gloria. After the show, the band came out and interacted with the crowd, offering their appreciation and meeting with new and old fans alike.
Lead singer Tony Russo.
If Friday night was an indication that there was a desire for U2 music, Saturday night proved that sentiment as over 600 people piled into Ardmore Music Hall to hear Unforgettable Fire. Ardmore Music Hall has been a rock club staple of the Northeast for over 40+ years, and has a storied history of hosting legendary musicians. So. Central Rain (an R.E.M. tribute band) opened the show and was the perfect musical compliment to the music of U2. When Unforgettable Fire took the stage, the crowd was well warmed up and ready to continue the night. City of Blinding Lights opened the show again, but this night they followed it up with The Joshua Tree favorite, In God’s Country. A big difference for this show was the 200”+ projector screen that was behind the band, playing different graphics for each song. During Kite, the blue screen had multi colored kites floating onscreen, Desire had images of Freemont Street and the Vegas strip, and was reminiscent of the music video for the song, and Pride flashed images of Martin Luther King Jr. The band played a consecutive trio of Joshua Tree songs, the always impressive Bullet The Blue Sky, WIth Or Without You, complete with Shine Like Stars snippet and the ever popular Where The Streets Have No Name. The band ended the night with the most famous U2 song, Bad, with snippets of 40, to which the crowd sang along to.
Lead guitarist Mick Normoyle playing Kite.
Unforgettable Fire performing Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Unforgettable never fails to disappoint. Their commitment to performing a truly authentic U2 show has earned them the reputation of being the preeminent U2 Tribute Show in North America. From wardrobe to lighting, to stage mannerisms, they do an incredibly convincing job of creating a live U2 concert setting for their audience. They band’s successes have included being joined onstage by U2 members Adam Clayton and The Edge, were invited to compete on the first ever “Clash of the Cover Bands” and were even featured as an answer on the hit show “Jeopardy” . Unforgettable Fire consists of Tony Russo (Lead Vocals), Mick Normoyle (Lead Guitar/Keyboards/Backup Vocals), Craig Kiell (Bass), and George Levesanos (Drums).
Unforgettable Fire: https://uf2.com/home
From L to R: Craig Kiell, George Levesanos, Tony Russo, Mick Normoyle