Chuck Berry’s Birthday Bash

Item details

Date

Friday, Oct 17, 2025 7:00PM

Name

Chuck Berry’s Birthday Bash

Description

📍 This concert takes place at Powell Hall

Athony Parnther, conductor

Celebrate the legendary Chuck Berry’s birthday with hits from throughout the star’s career performed by the SLSO, his hometown orchestra. Arrangements of Berry’s songs, featuring his distinctive take on R&B and signature guitar-playing style, are accompanied by exclusive video footage and interviews. An exhibit of rare memorabilia, photos, and one of Berry’s Cadillacs will also be on display. This tribute is part of the multi-year celebration of the 100th anniversary of Chuck Berry’s birth organized by the Berry family.

A few things to know:

• Berry’s classic “Johnny B. Goode” was chosen by Carl Sagan to be included on the golden record of Earth Sounds and Music launched with Voyager in 1977. At one point, Berry said of it, “One song had its birth when the tour first brought me to New Orleans, a place I’d longed to visit ever since hearing Muddy Waters’s lyrics, ‘Going down in Louisiana, way down behind the sun.’ That inspiration, combined with little bits of Dad’s stories and the thrill of seeing my Black name posted all over town in one of the cities they brought the slaves through turned into the song Johnny B. Goode.”
• Chess Records released Berry’s first single, “Maybellene”—an adaptation of the country song “Ida Red”—in 1955. It sold more than a million copies, reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B charts, and hit No. 5 on the pop charts, allowing Berry to build crossover appeal beyond the R&B audience.
• Berry’s first public performance was in 1941, singing “Confessin’ the Blues,” while his friend Tommy Stevens played guitar on Sumner High School’s stage. Stevens’ powerful performance inspired Berry to learn how to play the instrument himself.

This concert is part of CHUCK100, organized by the Berry family and Isalee Music Publishing.

Tickets are currently available for subscribers. Curated Series and Compose Your Own subscriptions are on sale now.