Bob Seger’s catalog spent decades filling amphitheaters and hockey arenas; at 1,100 seats, the Riviera Theatre makes that same material feel almost intimate. Forever Seger: The Silver Bullet Experience, the Ontario-based tribute ranked by NJ Monthly among the Top 10 tribute bands to experience in North America, arrives in North Tonawanda for three consecutive nights in May — May 14 is the middle date of that run.
About the Show
The band’s founders describe their project as reconstruction rather than approximation: a full ensemble built to replicate the scale and feel of a 1970s-era Seger concert. Frontman Kevin Reid carries, by his own band’s account, “the look, the mannerisms and the voice” of a young Bob Seger; Musical Director John Jamieson handles arrangements and harmonies, building out an ensemble that includes The Smokin’ Segerettes backup vocalists, electric guitars, boogie-woogie keys, and saxophone. “Make sure that when people come to the show, they’re coming to a real, legitimate rock and roll show,” Jamieson has said of the group’s intent. The setlist draws from Seger’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame catalog: “Turn the Page,” “Hollywood Nights,” “Old Time Rock and Roll,” and “Night Moves” are all confirmed in the band’s repertoire.
The musicians behind the show carry real credentials. Bassist Curtis Freeman was named 2022 Mississauga Musician of the Year and has performed in over 40 countries alongside artists including Kim Mitchell and Paul Brown; saxophonist Patrick Smith has played the Toronto and Montreal Jazz Festivals and appeared at the 2019 NBA Finals. Three consecutive nights at Riviera signals something genuine about the band’s following in western New York. The catalog they’re honoring belongs to a Detroit-born artist who sold over 75 million albums, holds 12 platinum-certified records, and was inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012 — a body of work with few active interpreters willing to take it on at this scale.
Venue & Logistics
The Riviera Theatre, at 67 Webster St. in North Tonawanda, holds 1,100 seats, which pulls this material out of the stadium context it was built for and into a room where the sound has somewhere to go. Part of western New York’s live music circuit, the theater presents the May 14 show at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets
Tickets are $20. Buy tickets