Eat, drink and dig the sounds

Taste of Newport can be for more than the stomach. Eyes and ears can

have fun too.

Three live musical acts are scheduled to perform each day of the

three-day celebration of local cuisine. The announced headliners are

singer Macy Gray on Friday, the 1980s throwback B-52s on Saturday,

and rock act Hootie and the Blowfish on Sunday. Opening acts include

surf music, R&B; and cover bands.

“We try to find bands that have a wide appeal, Newport Beach

Chamber of Commerce Vice President Jeff Parker said. The chamber

organizes Taste of Newport to promote local restaurants.

The scheduled opening acts for Friday are Fallout: The Police

Experience and The Derek Bordeaux Group. Fallout is expected to play

such hit songs as “Roxanne” and “Don’t Stand So Close to Me.” The

Derek Bordeaux Group specializes in R&B; and soul.

Bordeaux said the group has performed at Taste of Newport for

about a decade. He said the atmosphere at a Taste of Newport concert

feels like the audience comes to the event for one last summertime

party.

“”We love it, and the people there are terrific,” Bordeaux said.

Saturday’s opening bands are Mark Wood and the Parrot Head Band

and the Classical Mystery Tour: Unorchestrated. The Parrot Head Band

is billed as a Jimmy Buffet-esque mix of rock, island sounds, R&B; and

Latin styles. The Classical Mystery Tour covers Beatles songs from

all the Fab Four’s phases.

Classical Mystery Tour rhythm guitarist and singer Jim Owen takes

on John Lennon’s role during the band’s shows. Owen said the band

will be unorchestrated for Taste of Newport, but the group often

plays at performing arts centers with a full symphony.

Owen is planning a two-hour show that will begin with tunes from

the Beatles’ early days. The second hour will feature songs from such

albums as “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and “The White

Album.”

On Sunday, the Surf City All Stars and Bayou Brass Band are

scheduled to take the stage before Hootie’s set. The Bayou Brass Band

is expected to play in a style that mixes New Orleans jazz with

Cajun-funk and R&B.; The Surf City All Stars are fronted by Dean

Torrence of Jan and Dean and include musicians who have played with

Jan and Dean, the Beach Boys and the Ventures. The band will play a

mix of Jan and Dean and Beach Boys songs, drummer David Logeman said.

“It’s definitely a group of veterans who’ve been doing it a long

time,” Logeman said of his bandmates. “These are people who have been

steeped in the surf music tradition.”

Taste of Newport is set to begin Friday and continue through

Sunday. Menus, entertainment lineups, schedules and admission prices

can be found at o7www.tasteofnewport.comf7.

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be

reached at (714) 966-4624 or by e-mail at

[email protected].