Legendary rock band Tesla will be performing their iconic rock hits live in concert at Ottumwa’s Bridge View Center Saturday, July 22 at 7:30pm. Advance tickets start at $44 and go on sale Friday, April 21 at 10am. Tickets will be available for purchase at the Bridge View Center Ticket Office M-F 8:30-5:00 or online at Ticketmaster.com.
That they are still roaring and soaring should be no surprise. That’s just how they are built. TESLA may have been born in the mid-80s, but their bluesy, soulful sound is strongly embedded in the roots of organic, authentic, 1970s rock and roll. The same roots that produced bands like The Allman Brothers, Grand Funk Railroad, AC/DC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Aerosmith.
The ground started shaking in Sacramento, CA, in 1984; gold country that would soon be producing some platinum. They started out as City Kidd, until a suggested name change to TESLA, honoring the eccentric inventor Nikola Tesla who pioneered all things electrical. Their 1986 platinum debut album, Mechanical Resonance, included Top 40 hits “Modern Day Cowboy” and “Little Suzi.” 1989’s double-platinum The Great Radio Controversy included hits “Heaven’s Trail (No Way Out)” and “Love Song”. Suddenly, TESLA, who had been touring with bands such as Def Leppard and David Lee Roth, earned headlining status. In 1990, TESLA helped reshape the face of modern rock music by stripping down to the Five Man Acoustical Jam, an informal collection of their biggest hits peppered with rock and roll classics by the Beatles, Stones, and others. This album produced their biggest hit single to date, a cover of Five Man Electrical Band’s “Signs.” Other 90s albums from Tesla include platinum selling Psychotic Supper and Bust a Nut. The band continues to record and release material including 9 new albums since 2000 and recently debuted their new single, “Time To Rock!”
TESLA has endured many of the same taste-changing challenges that affected many in the post-grunge world, but through it all, their blue-collar work ethic and dedication to the faithful fan base has helped them not just survive, but thrive. TESLA’s legacy is alive and well as they continue to record and sellout venues all over the world. As comfortable, rugged, and dependable as your favorite pair of boots, they endure. TESLA is a celebration of the greatest spirits of rock and roll.