Ready to rock in Canton: New music fest features Eagles, Petty tributes and original bands

Tim Eastgate becomes two people at once when he sings and plays guitar for the King's Highway Tom Petty tribute band.

He's the guy who hauls landscaping supplies for his day job. And when the 68-year-old Coventry Township man dresses up as Petty, he transforms into the late rock star known for the hit songs "American Girl" and "Don't Come Around Here No More."

Bandmates tell him that he received the legendary musician's blessing to front a tribute band in Petty's honor.

"I had a dream one time when we first started (King's Highway) that I met Tom Petty," he said. "I was talking to him about tributing him, and in the dream, he said, 'Don't worry, don't worry, I'm going to help you out right now.'

"He took his finger and stuck it in (one of my arteries), and he said, 'Relax, I'm going to give you me. I'm going to put me inside your body.'"

Acknowledging the story may sound a bit out there for some folks, Eastgate's voice was sincere: "Even now, when I retold (the dream), I got goose bumps."

For fans of Petty and his band The Heartbreakers, King's Highway is a chance to relive and enjoy the music of the rock icon, who died in 2017.

No more Blues Fest These are the bands and music acts playing in the new Downtown Canton Music Fest

King's Highway, named after a Petty song, is among the scores of tribute bands inside and outside of the Akron-Canton area who perform in clubs, bars and at festivals and amphitheaters.

It's a growing genre. That's why King's Highway, ZYGRT (a Northeast Ohio-based Led Zeppelin, Yes, Genesis, Rush and Toto tribute band) and the Out of Eden Eagles tribute will be among the performers at the new Downtown Canton Music Fest tonight and Friday at Centennial Plaza (stage A).

The event also will showcase original bands, including Ravenwood, which features Joe Vitale Jr., with his father Joe Vitale Sr. making a special appearance. Other musical acts include The Scenic Route, The Shootouts, WINTRIP, Jeff Poulos, Yankee Bravo, Josee McGee, Groove Thang, New Delhi Monkeymen, Starlight Band, Jeff Poulos, Wing It and Bret Kuhnash.

All of the bands are local or regionally-based. Performances at the free festival will be split between Centennial Plaza and stage B (Market Avenue N and Fourth Street NW) from 3:30 to 10:30 p.m. today and noon to 10:30 p.m. Friday.

For the schedule of bands and performance times, check the end of this article or visit https://cantoncentennialplaza.com/events/.

A beer garden will be at Market Avenue N and Third Street NW. Food trucks also will be at the event, and restaurants will be open downtown.

No seating will be provided. Attendees should bring blankets, chairs or they can stand. For rules on chairs and restrictions at Centennial Plaza, go to https://cantoncentennialplaza.com/.

Participating musicians are looking forward to the new event, which replaces the longtime Canton Blues Fest.

"Those end of summer nights, and being downtown with music going on ... it's really fun, it's really cool to be part of that," said Vitale Sr., a Canton native and former touring drummer with the Eagles. "I'm glad Canton's doing that because there were many years when nothing like that was offered for downtown, and downtown became not a ghost town, of course, but it was just sitting there, and there's so much to do down there."

Added his son: "You have this nice skyline down there, and you have this beautiful facility," he said of Centennial Plaza. "And it's nice to see people coming together for a couple days of music. The architecture's amazing down there. It's really a special (event), and I'm really looking forward to it."

Tribute bands: 'The arguments can go either way.'

Tribute bands will help draw fans to the new music festival, said Chris Wintrip, who is performing both with his jazz and blues group WINTRIP (playing Grover Washington Jr., Hall & Oates, The Doobie Brothers and Tracy Chapman covers) and the classic rock tribute act ZYGRT.

Factors for choosing bands in the festival included the size of their online followings and whether they have a traveling fanbase, said Wintrip, who helped plan the event, with input from Vitale Sr., who wanted to emphasize musical variety. The nonprofit Downtown Canton Partnership is overseeing and coordinating the festival.

Despite their mass appeal, tribute bands also attract critics, including those who have voiced displeasure on social media over the ending of the Blues Fest.

Seasoned musicians like Wintrip and Vitale Jr. say tribute bands make the music of timeless and famous groups more accessible.

"A lot of the real bands, sometimes the ticket prices are so high, sometimes it's nice to see the same music ... (and tribute acts) emulating the bands so well (that) it's just like actually going to see the concerts," Vitale Jr. said. "The bands that I've opened for (with Ravenwood) that have been tribute acts, they're phenomenal. They get down to as many details as humanly possible.

"You always have to eat, breath and sleep that if you're a tribute band," he added. "You're seeing a combination of a theatrical and musical performance."

Vitale Jr. said he understands both sides of the musical argument.

"You still have to be as good of a player of what you're trying to be a tribute to," he said. "The arguments can go either way, but when it comes really down to it, you really have to have the musicianship to facilitate that show."

Decades ago, while living in San Diego, Eastgate was in the original rock band Vinney Bonne, which once opened for glam rockers Warrant. Eastgate also was previously in a Styx tribute band.

King's Highway started about eight years ago.

"I've heard it, 'Why don't you book real bands?'" he said. "I've seen that over and over again, and I say, 'We're as real as it gets.' We have a love for a specific artist. Most of them are gone or they're not together as a group.

"You don't have to love me, I'm just Tim Eastgate," he added. "I want you to enjoy Tom Petty forever and forever."

The craft of the tribute band

Wintrip performed for 11 years as an Eric Clapton tribute act before recently playing what he expects to be his last Clapton show in order to pursue his own music.

Later this month, Wintrip, as a musical artist, will be releasing the original smooth jazz and R&B-influenced instrumental single, "RUBY" on music streaming platforms, with plans for WINTRIP the band to tour nationally next year. The funky, upbeat song features Wintrip on guitar and a contribution from the Grammy-winning Bob James.

"I spent months, and probably a full year, maybe even two, before I even came out as a tribute just learning all of the ways that (Clapton) approaches his solos and the chords he uses, and listening to the inflection in his voice tonally," he said.

"... I do all the inflection exactly like he does," said Wintrip, 72, noting he would dye his beard and mustache and wear glasses to mimic Clapton. "There's actually a craft to this."

A special kind of tribute band Vitale father, son bond through music while forming All-Star band The Vinyl Machine

ZYGRT, meanwhile, is what Wintrip calls the "ultimate tribute band." Learning musical and vocal arrangements for Led Zeppelin, Yes, Genesis, Rush and Toto is a challenge, the Canton native said.

"There's something for everyone, a five bands-in-one kind of thing," he said. "It actually worked, but it was actually an experiment."

'That doesn't mean the music is retiring.'

Vitale Sr., an acclaimed classic rock percussionist who has performed with Peter Frampton, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Ted Nugent, Joe Walsh, Stephen Stills and Dan Fogelberg, has a sense why tribute bands are flourishing today.

"It's always the music and the songs, and of course, it's a wonderful experience to see the guys who created the music and the legends ... but we're all getting older, and a lot of the bands are touring less, and a lot of the bands are retiring, but that doesn't mean the music is retiring."

Tribute bands have become a cottage industry of sorts while spanning a variety of venues. Some of the most successful groups tour the country, including those who perform at the Nash Family Jackson Amphitheater in Stark County and Lock 3 in Akron. House of Blues in Cleveland and Musica in Akron also book tribute bands.

ZYGRT has performed at the MGM Northfield Park, Wintrip said.

"I think any tribute band is just a notch under a headliner that would play Blossom," he said. "There's bar bands and good players and tribute level. You're just under playing big arenas like (Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse) or something like that."

Classic rock endures 7 cool things about the Styx show: Big encore, 'Mr. Roboto,' Tommy Shaw and full moon fun

Eastgate and King's Highway have performed at events outside Ohio in front of up to 15,000 people.

"When you have a whole crowd of people singing every word with you, it's an incredible feeling," he said. "And when you walk away, these people are never going to forget Tom Petty music. They've held onto it. And to me, that's the most important thing. There's not going to be any Tom Pettys coming around real soon to write those songs."

Nationally-touring tribute bands charge as much as $20,000 per show, Eastgate said.

"I expect them to continue to be popular because we're losing a lot of great music," he said. "... Today's music doesn't even hold a candle to the honest music (from the '60s through '90s). The naysayers, they just need to take a backseat because this is really hard work to keep great songs alive no matter who you're tributing."

Reach Ed at ebalint@gannett.com

On X (formerly Twitter) @ebalintREP

If you go

The Downtown Canton Music Fest will be 3:30 to 10:30 p.m. today and noon to 10:30 p.m. Friday, with stages at Centennial Plaza (stage A at Market Avenue N and Court Avenue NW) and a second and smaller stage (stage B at Market and Fourth Street NW).

TODAY

3:30 to 4 p.m. − Josee McGee (Stage B)

4 to 5:15 p.m. − Ryan Humbert & The Shootouts (Centennial Plaza)

5:15 to 5:45 p.m. − Matt & Jerry (Stage B)

5:45 to 7 p.m. − Robert Johnson Project (Centennial Plaza)

7 to 7:30 p.m. − Yankee Bravo (Stage B)

7:30 to 8:45 p.m. − Groove Thang (featuring Tony Watson) (Centennial Plaza)

8:45 to 9:15 p.m. − New Delhi Monkeymen (Stage B)

9:15 to 10:30 p.m. − WINTRIP (Centennial Plaza)

FRIDAY

Noon to 2:15 p.m. − Open acoustic jam (Stage B)

2:15 to 3:30 p.m. − Starlight Band (Centennial Plaza)

3:30 to 4 p.m. − Wing It (featuring Brad Harper) (Stage B)

4 to 5:15 p.m. − Out Of Eden (Eagles tribute) (Centennial Plaza)

5:15 to 5:45 p.m. − Jeff Poulos Duo (Stage B)

5:45 to 7 p.m. − King's Highway (Tom Petty tribute) (Centennial Plaza)

7 to 7:30 p.m. − Bret Kuhnash Trio (Stage B)

7:30 to 8:45 p.m. − ZYGRT (Centennial Plaza)

8:45 to 9:15 p.m. − The Scenic Route (Stage B)

9:15 to 10:30 p.m. − Ravenwood (featuring Joe Vitale Jr. & Joe Vitale Sr.) (Centennial Plaza)

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Downtown Canton Music Fest features Tom Petty, Eagles tribute bands