Mark Farner Flint 8/15/09

Flint rock legend Mark Farner to perform in hometown Grand Funk Railroad alum returns for show during Back to the Bricks weekend in August , 8/15/09

FLINT, Michigan - Flint rock legend Mark Farner is returning to his hometown in August to perform in the city’s historic Atwood Stadium as part of a new daylong music festival.
Organizers of the music festival and Farner, along with his wife and manager, Lisa Farner, will officially announce the event during a news conference 4:30 p.m. Wednesday (May 27) at the new Blackstone’s restaurant in downtown Flint. Farner will be available to talk with the media at the news conference.

Farner was the lead guitarist and singer of the 1970s rock band, Grand Funk Railroad, which became famous for hits, “I’m Your Captain (Closer to Home)”, “We’re an American Band”, “Some Kind of Wonderful” and many more.

The concert will be Farner’s first official performance in Flint since 1975.
“This show will be like coming home to a family reunion,” Farner said.

The music festival and Farner’s concert will take place Aug. 15, which is the Saturday of the annual Back to the Bricks car cruise and show in downtown Flint and in communities along Saginaw Street in Genesee County. While the festival is not an official part of Back to the Bricks, event organizer Karen Smith said it seemed like a perfect match.

“Flint is where the automobile is made and Back to the Bricks celebrates the auto and classic cars,” Smith said. “And Mark is a rock patriot who is from that classic car era. He’ll definitely appeal to that 35 and up age group. He couldn’t be a better person to have here.”

The music festival will feature performances by 10 different bands. It will start at 11 a.m. Aug. 15 at Atwood Stadium and will run all day - rain or shine. Other local bands scheduled to perform are Dr. Payne, Last Warning, Lil Miss Dangerous, South Bay Bessie and more. Cost to attend the concert is $10 per person in advance and $15 at the gate. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan, Holy Rosary schools and Mission of Hope.

There will be a bus that will shuttle people between the Back to the Bricks and Atwood Stadium events.

In addition to the music, there will be several other activities taking place in and around Atwood Stadium, including a volleyball tournament, VIP tent, a Las Vegas tent run by the Holy Rosary congregation and vendors selling food, trinkets, art clothing and other retail items.

Concert tickets will go on sale June 1. A limited number of advance tickets will be available at: "Mike's Triple Grill" 605 S.Saginaw, Flint & "Blackstone's" 533 S Saginaw St, Flint with other locations TBA. Listen for more information through your local TV and radio stations. For more information 810.515.1928

About Grand Funk Railroad and Mark Farner: Considered one of America’s biggest bands of the 1970s, Grand Funk recorded 17 albums with total sales of more than 25 million records. Farner is the unmistakable voice, guitarist and songwriter that powered the original Grand Funk Railroad to 12 platinum and 16 gold albums.

The group was started by Farner in 1969 with teenage friends Mel Schacher and Don Brewer and the group hit it big just several months after forming and was quickly signed by Capitol Records.

Farner and his wife, Lisa, live in Petoskey, but are on the road often.

About the music festival: The festival at Atwood Stadium is sponsored by Downtown Flint Revival Magazine , The Law Offices of Terry Bankert, Flint, Tom Ryan Budweiser, Flint, Blackstone's Pub & Grill, Flint, & STAT EMS, Flint . The Magazine also is producing the official publication for the Back to the Bricks event.

On the Web: Mark Farner’s official Web site: http://www.markfarner.com/

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