Heart, Cheap Trick bring classic rock to Bon Secours Wellness Arena: Upstate Beat

GREENVILLE, SC

On the surface, it might seem like the classic rock bands Heart and Cheap Trick, who perform together at Greenville’s Bon Secours Wellness Arena on April 20 as part of Heart’s “Royal Flush” tour, don’t have a lot of common ground other than volume. Cheap Trick specializes in razor-sharp power pop with heavy riffs and alternately sly and primitive lyrics, whereas Heart mixes majestic hard rock with occasional mystical folk themes. In other words, “I Want You to Want Me” and “Dreamboat Annie” don’t exactly sound like they share the same musical space.

But the fact is that both these bands have similar career paths, and they are no doubt rock and roll survivors – two of the few bands still standing from their era. Both groups shot to fame in the late 1970s. Heart’s Ann Wilson, surely one of the greatest vocalists in the history of rock music, joined by her singer/guitarist younger sister Nancy, became platinum superstars right out of the gate with 1975’s “Dreamboat Annie” album, landing a series of classic hard-rock hits like “Magic Man,” “Barracuda,” “Crazy on You” and many more.

Cheap Trick took a little longer to hit paydirt, but guitarist Rick Nielsen’s ear for hooks and singer Robin Zander’s natural charisma eventually caught fire thanks to albums like “Live at Budokan,” which sold 5 million copies, and “Dream Police,” which sold 3 million. Along the way, they created “I Want You to Want Me,” a bona fide classic rock anthem.

Career Resurgence

Both bands fell on hard times in the early 1980s as tastes changed and their respective styles fell out of fashion, but unlikely career renaissances awaited them. Heart rocketed back to the top of the charts in 1985 with a self-titled album that eventually eclipsed their ‘70s successes. Hits like “What About Love,” “These Dreams” and “Never” drove the “Heart” album to 5 million copies sold, and the 1987 follow up “Bad Animals” continued the trend with “Who Will You Run To” and “Alone” soaring to the top of the charts. The band was voted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame back in 2013.

Cheap Trick also rose again with an unlikely power-ballad smash, “The Flame,” which pushed their album “Lap of Luxury” to platinum status and a follow-up hit, a cover of Elvis Presley’s “Don’t Be Cruel.” Cheap Trick followed Heart into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2016.

So if you go to the concert, consider for a moment as you take in the hard-rocking hits of these two classic bands how they’ve both risen from the ashes to survive and thrive for decades.

Event Details

What: Heart’s “Royal Flush Tour,” with special guest Cheap Trick

When: Saturday, April 20

Where: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville

Tickets and info: bonsecoursarena.com

Image by Criss Cain