ILLINOIS CENTRAL COLLEGE 2017-18 GUEST ARTISTS SERIES OPENS AUGUST 19 WITH “DOGS OF SOCIETY,” THE ULTIMATE ELTON JOHN ROCK TRIBUTE

            The Illinois Central College Guest Artists Series opens the 2017-2018 season with a concert by Dogs of Society, the ultimate Elton John rock tribute, on August 19 at 7:30 pm in the ICC Performing Arts Center, located on the East Peoria Campus.

            Driven by the stellar musicianship of the five-member band, including the spot-on vocals of “Elton Juan”--lead singer John Gore-- the all-live, '70s rock concert experience by Dogs of Society stays faithful to the spirit of classic, early Elton John recordings from his biggest smash hits to his most-loved deep cuts. Audiences will never be this close to Elton...but they will think they are when seeing and hearing Dogs of Society-the ultimate Elton John rock tribute.

            Gore said the performances by the group focus on the music of Elton John rather than on some of the eccentricities for which the singer is well known.

            “I do look like him kind of naturally,” Gore said. “I kind of wish I looked more like Brad Pitt than Elton John, but I do look more like Elton John. I do dress up, I wear the glasses, but it’s really to evoke Elton more than to do an imitation. To me, the imitations tend to be a little bit cheesy, and it tends to be more about duck costumes and some of the silly outfits than about the music. So I shy away from that end of it, and I try to evoke the Elton that you would hear in the early ‘70s and really concentrate more on the music…although I’m told all the time how much the show looks and sounds like a real Elton show.

            “As far as the music goes, we’re very accurate. We spend a lot of time trying not to do our own versions, but trying to do a version that is faithful to the original recording. We’ve been able to reproduce a lot of his music very faithfully, so I’m very proud of that.”

            SAMS, the Stray Animal Midway Shelter, will be the highlighted community partner for the event. The community partner program, a part of the ICC Guest Artists Series, highlights a non-profit or community organization that has ties to the Guest Artists Series performance.

            Patrons who make a monetary donation to SAMS at the event will be entered in a drawing for two free tickets to a future ICC Guest Artists Series event.

            The performance is presented as part of the ICC Guest Artists Series, a series of shows featuring touring, professional performers. The 2017-2018 season features five performances, as well as two optional bonus shows. Individual event tickets and season ticket packages are available. More information is available at ArtsAtICC.com.

            The ICC Guest Artists Series by the Arts at ICC. The Arts at ICC has a rich history of enhancing the arts community and expanding education beyond the classroom. Arts at ICC presents more than 500 exhibits, performances, lectures, rehearsals, meetings, master classes, clinics, seminars, receptions, orientations, forums, auditions and tournaments annually.

       Tickets for the August 19 concert by Dogs of Society cost $25 for the general public and $15 for students. Tickets are available at ArtsAtICC.com or by calling the ICC Performing Arts Center Box Office at (309) 694-5136.