The British-American classic rock band, America, will be making their return to Chattanooga at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium on Friday, August 22nd, at 7 p.m.
Celebrating their 55th anniversary tour, America has a long, tenured history within the rock world, having first formed in London in 1970 by artists Dewey Bunnell, Gerry Beckley, and Dan Peek, before going on to release their transatlantic hits in the years to come. All three founding members were sons of U.S. Air Force personnel stationed in the United Kingdom and, despite all being American citizens, met and started the band in England.
Singular tracks like “A Horse With No Name,” “Ventura Highway,” and “I Need You” were all released within two years of the band forming, and all three made it into the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with “A Horse With No Name” reaching number one for three weeks. In 1973 they won the Grammy for Best New Artist and were nominated for Best Pop Vocal Group.
While one founding member, Peek, left the band in 1977, and another, Beckley, retired from touring in 2024, founding member Dewey Bunnell is still at the helm and performing.
Their music has left an indelible mark on rock culture, and their sound is a mix of folk and soft rock, with philosophical, powerful lyrics and performances contrasting tight vocal harmonies and lush guitar.
The band also has a long and celebrated history of performing in Chattanooga, with them first playing Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium in November of 1974, followed by a performance there again in March of 1979. In 2008 they headlined the long-beloved Riverbend Festival in Chattanooga.
As one of the defining soft-rock bands of the seventies, America has gained audiences’ affections for over five and a half decades, and as a result a documentary has been made about their place in rock history and their journey, entitled I Need You: 53 Years Of The Band America.
The documentary reflects on 53 magical years of touring and gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse into Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell privately saying goodbye to each other after a lifetime together on the road. It focuses on the space they created and their enduring legacy and is currently making the rounds at film festivals this year after winning the Audience Award at Newport Beach Film Festival for “Best Music Film.”
America’s return to Chattanooga for the first time in seventeen years will be an incredible night full of classic rock hits and nostalgia overload. To borrow a line from “Ventura Highway,” “Where the days are longer, the nights are stronger than moonshine, you're gonna go, I know.”
America
- Friday, August 22nd, 7 p.m. $53-$148.
- Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium.
- 399 McCallie Ave. Chattanooga, TN.
- tivolichattanooga.com