Fairfield arts center to host Rock 'n' Roll Dream Tour

FAIRFIELD — Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly are two of the biggest names in Rock ‘n’ Roll history, and the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center is hosting them this weekend.

At least, it will “feel” like the two rock stars are on stage thanks to cutting-edge technology that will produce a hologram of Orbison and Holly.

The concert is called the “Rock 'n' Roll Dream Tour,” and it begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 4 in the Stephen Sondheim Center for the Performing Arts. FACC Executive Director Lindsay Bauer said these holograms are much more than simply projecting video of the singers onto a screen.

BASE Entertainment of Las Vegas painstakingly reviewed hundreds of hours of recorded concert footage of both Holly and Orbison. Using state-of-the-art digital technology, the images were then transformed into 3D, realistic holographs.

Then, to add an additional layer of “I can’t believe it’s not real” authenticity, the company hired actors to learn the mannerisms of each performer. These stand-in artists rehearsed for over three months, recreating concert performances down to the letter. These performances were filmed as Hollywood would do for a big-budget action film, complete with special effects and lighting. Finally, using CGI film techniques, the two processes were combined to create an animated version of both Roy Orbison and of Buddy Holly, which were then set to a digitally-enhanced audio master recording.

“It really looks like they’re there,” Bauer said. “This is so cool. I’m looking forward to see what it looks like in real life.”

Bauer said the company that created the holograms has also created holograms of other deceased singers such as Tupac Shakur and Whitney Houston.

Background on the artists

According to a news release from FACC, Buddy Holly was a trailblazing musician whose unique style and influential career were tragically cut short by a plane crash in 1959 when he was only 22 years old. Holly's death was memorialized in Don McLean's iconic song "American Pie" as "the day the music died." Holly's music never really died, though, despite the singer's tragic and untimely death. Though his professional career spanned just two short years, Holly's recorded material has influenced the likes of Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan, who, at age 17, saw Holly perform on his final tour. The Rolling Stones had their first Top 10 single in 1964 with a cover of Holly's "Not Fade Away." The Beatles chose their name as a kind of homage to Holly’s band The Crickets, and Paul McCartney has since purchased Holly's publishing rights.

Roy Orbison, who didn't have the Beatles' looks, Sinatra's swagger or Elvis's pelvis, was perhaps the most unlikely sex symbol of the 1960s. He dressed like an insurance salesman and was famously lifeless during his performances. "He never even twitched," recalled George Harrison, who was simultaneously awestruck and confounded by Orbison's stage presence. "He was like marble." What Orbison did have was one of the most distinctive, versatile and powerful voices in pop music. In the words of Elvis Presley, Orbison was simply "the greatest singer in the world."

The two singers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame just one year apart — Holly in 1986 and Orbison in 1987. Now united through digital sorcery in the Rock 'n' Roll Dream Tour, their combined legacy continues to inspire and amaze audiences across the country.

Learn more about the Rock 'n' Roll Dream tour at Fairfield Arts & Convention Center at fairfieldacc.com, or by calling the Box Office at (641) 472-2787.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com