Kenny Vance and the Planotones will be visiting Woodbridge tonight at a concert scheduled for the field near .
The musicfest, part of the Mayor's Summer Concert series, is free and starts at 7:30 pm. Concertgoers should bring blankets or chairs, and canned goods to donate to the township's many heavily-used food banks.
The band specializes in 50s and 60s doo wop covers, but with a particular edge. That's because Vance, the group leader was one of the original members of Jay and the Americans, a top 40s pop group who created such hits as "Cara Mia," "This Magic Moment," "Come a Little Bit Closer," and "Only in America."
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Almost all were Top Ten hits on the Billboard charts.
The Planotones actually got its start as a fictional band in the movie American Hot Wax, in which Vance sang with a real group, the Brooklyn Dreams. In 1992, Vance took it a step further and formed the Planotones as a real group which plays the oldies circuit. The group is comprised of Vance, Johnny Gale, Kurt 'Frenchy' Yahjian, and Jimmy Bense, with Chip Degaard on keyboards and Tony Gallino on drums.
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The band did well with their own song, "Looking for an Echo," several years ago.
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