Penn’s Peak would like to welcome April Wine and Winger to the stage!!

April Wine

Forty years together as a band is quite an accomplishment for anyone, but April Wine achieved it and continues on to the future.  The players may not be the same, but they still have that signature April Wine sound.  Brothers David and Ritchie Henman got together with their cousin Jim and friend Myles Goodwyn in 1969 in Nova Scotia to start a band.  April and Wine were two words the guys felt sounded good together so that became their name.  Their first album, Fast Train, was released in 1970 and their first #1 hit in Canada was “You Could Have Been A Lady.”  They also cracked Billboard’s Top 30 in the US with that song.  This album eventually went gold, but a new April Wine was emerging.  This one no longer contained the Henman brothers, but Myles and Jim remained. 

In 1974, the band hit the road on a tour called The Electric Adventure.  This tour would become monumental in the touring industry because they were the first band to use dramatic lighting and pyrotechnic displays as an integral part of their show.  It wasn’t until their 6th album, but they finally hit a Canadian milestone; the Best Selling Canadian Single.  “You Won’t Dance With Me” reached gold status and the album went gold and then platinum.  Later on, April Wine became the first Canadian band to achieve platinum advance sales orders with the album The Whole World’s Goin’ Crazy.

Eventually, the band upgraded to 5 members; 3 guitar players, which helped them develop their trademark power rock image.  Finally, this grouping of April Wine became the one to reach international success.  Their song “Roller” became a Top 30 hit in the US and First Glance became their 1st gold record outside of Canada.  Their international success helped them get noticed by Rush, Styx and Journey, who were requesting April Wine as their opening act.  April Wine’s greatest success was with their 1981 release, Nature of The Beast.  The first single, “Just Between You and Me” broke Billboard’s Top 20 and remained on their Hot 100 Singles Chart for 16 weeks.  That same year the millionth copy of the album was sold in the US and now April Wine had international platinum status as well.

The band rested for a few years and in 1992, they went back on the concert circuit and played their first concert to a sold out crowd in Manitoba.  Their popularity never waned and they were even playing sold out shows in the US.  Their first studio release in 10 years was Attitude, the groups’ 13th album.  And, as anticipated with April Wine, it went gold in Canada.  In 1995 the band went back to their roots and became a 4 piece rock band again and continued touring the US and Canada.  In late 2008, Jerry Mercer retired from April Wine.  He was drumming with the band for an amazing 35 years.  In March of last year, the band was inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame and they received The Lifetime Achievement Award for being part of Canadian Music History for 40 years!  

Winger

Winger stormed into the Heavy Metal scene in 1987 and left their mark in the music business.  Their debut album, 1988’s Winger, soared past platinum status in the US and went gold in Canada and Japan.  This album established Winger as a true heavy metal contender.  Radio and Mtv loved them and they began touring with the likes of Bad Company, Scorpions, Cinderella, Bon Jovi and Skid Row, just to name a few.  In 1990 they released their second album and, again, reached platinum status in the US and gold in Japan.  That same year they were also nominated for an American Music Award for Best New Heavy Metal Band.  Three years later, they released their 3rd album and began a tour of the US, Japan and Canada.  After this tour, the band members went their separate ways for a few years.  They all pursued individual goals and eventually got back together and continued on recording new albums and touring. 

Don’t miss April Wine and their power rock and the heavy metal sounds of Winger at Penn’s Peak!!

Tickets go on sale Saturday, February 20th at 10:00 am at all Ticketmaster outlets and at the Penn’s Peak Ticket Office.  Penn’s Peak ticket sales are walk-up only, no phone orders.