BoDeans Concert

Start our your new year with an old friend – the BoDeans in Northern Lights Theater inside Potawatomi Bingo Casino. Must be at least 21 years of age to enter casino. 

Local and national favorites, BoDeans, have been rocking theaters, radio and prime time TV since the early ’80s. Originally formed in Waukesha, Wisconsin by vocalists, lead guitarists and high school buddies, Kurt Neumann and Sam Llanas, other members of the band have fluctuated over the years.

The BoDeans hit major success in 1986 after recording their critically-acclaimed debut album, Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams, produced by T-Bone Burnett. This first album turned out sing-along hits such as “Fadeaway” and “Still theNight,” which remain crowd favorites today. In 1987, BoDeans were voted “Best New American band” by Rolling Stone readers and went on to open U2’s Joshua Tree Tour. Songs like 1991’s “GoodThings” are often imitated by local cover bands on the Milwaukee summer festival circuit. Yet the group’s biggest moment of popularity came with their 1993 single, “Closer to Free,” which became the theme song for popular TV show, Party of Five, and an annual cancer fundraiser at Yale, as well as enjoying regular radio rotation.

After a few years’ break, the group picked back up in 2004 and has continued making roots rock and heartland folk records up to the present, with Jake Owen replacing Sam Llanas after his departure in 2011. Their 2012 album, American Made, proves that the band is still going strong with their distinctive Americana style a quarter-century later.