© 2024. Randolph Hub. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome!

he PettyBreakers, a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers tribute band, will take the stage about 30 minutes after Caeland Garner, a Randolph County native, opens the event at 6 p.m.

Ready for a Tom Petty tribute band?

ASHEBORO — Downtown Asheboro, Inc.’s Rock’n The Park concert series continues tonight with the PettyBreakers, a tribute band to the legendary Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

 

The concert is free and open to all in the outdoor Bicentennial Park area of downtown Asheboro. It’s the second in a string of four concerts by tribute bands. A Beatles tribute band played the park on May 26, and tribute bands for The Eagles (On The Border, Aug. 11) and Stevie Wonder (Natural Wonder, Sept. 29) are upcoming.

 

In the case of the PettyBreakers, the band began in 2010 as a regional band but now has played in 22 states and Washington, D.C., ­with more being added. Among those performances was one with Katie Daryl, Mark Cuban and Ryan Seacrest, which selected the PettyBreakers to perform on their TV show in 2014.

 

Other standout opportunities include:

— Performing at the Naval Yard in Washington, D.C., in 2018 for Major League Baseball’s All-Star Pregame Celebration.

— Doing a four-month-plus residency in the Sammy Davis Showroom at Harrah’s Casino in Reno in 2017. 

— Being selected in 2014 as “The World’s Greatest Tribute to Tom Petty” by AXS-TV. 

 

Members of the group include:

— Ozzie Mancinelli (Lead Vocals, Guitars).

— John McAllister (Lead Guitar).

— David Zeman (Keyboards, Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica).

— Danny Leoni (Bass, Vocals).

— Rafael Gayol (Drums, Vocals).

 

Occasionally, guest performers will join the group, including former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers band member Ron Blair, who had this to say after playing the tribute band: “It’s a little odd to go play with a tribute band, being in the (original) band, but it’s pretty cool. I mean, they’re good musicians ... and they’re good songs.”

 

The group will take the stage about 30 minutes after the Caeland Garner warms up the crowd beginning at 6 p.m.

 

If that name sounds familiar, it should: Garner is a Coleridge native and a country and bluegrass music celebrity. 

 

Graduating from Eastern Randolph in 2004, Garner played in several bands in the Ramseur area, but it wasn’t until he was in college that he decided that music was his life’s path. 

 

Garner befriended Josh Swift, dobro player with the Isaacs and Lyle Lovett, who in turn introduced him to a Nashville performer looking to hire a musician. That experience hooked the Randolph County native. After earning a BS in biology and a BA in chemistry from St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, he relocated to Nashville in 2008.

 

In 2018, Blake Shelton became Garner’s coach after hearing him sing on the NBC show, “The Voice.”

 

As Bicentennial Park is a grassy venue, bring your own chair or blanket. Food trucks and beverages of many sorts will be available for purchase and the music will be strong and clear.