Howard Jones arrives at Artpark on Wednesday, August 12 as both headliner and architect of this summer’s most conceptually coherent nostalgia package — a distinction that actually means something when you’ve watched how most of these tours get assembled.
About the Tour
The Things Can Only Get Better Tour pairs Jones with Wang Chung, The English Beat, and Modern English, all performing complete sets under SiriusXM’s Richard Blade, who hosts throughout the 21-date North American run. Jones put this together deliberately. “I dreamed of curating a tour with my favorite bands that could bring some positivity in our troubled times,” he said at the announcement. The lineup makes the case: four British acts, each with genuine catalog depth, each still fronted by founding members who were present for the original run.
About Howard Jones
Jones emerged in 1983 with “New Song,” a synthesizer-driven debut single that reached number three on the UK charts and announced a writer with both pop instinct and an earnest philosophical edge. His debut album Human’s Lib hit number one in the UK; Dream into Action followed in 1985 with “Things Can Only Get Better,” “Life in One Day,” and “No One Is To Blame.” Twelve studio albums later, Jones remains one of the few synth-pop survivors of his era who has kept pace with his own technology rather than simply performing karaoke to his own catalog.
The supporting acts are worth taking seriously on their own terms. Wang Chung — Jack Hues and Nick Feldman — scored six US Top 40 hits including the chart-topping “Dance Hall Days” and embedded themselves in the cultural memory through soundtrack work with William Friedkin and John Hughes. The English Beat, led by Dave Wakeling, cofounded the British Two-Tone ska movement; their catalog holds up better than most things from that moment. Modern English bring Robbie Grey and Michael Conroy back with the original core intact, and “I Melt With You” hasn’t lost a step.
About Artpark
Artpark is the appropriate setting. The open-air amphitheater perched on the edge of the Niagara River Gorge has been hosting major touring acts since its inaugural July 1974 season — Miles Davis, Harry Chapin, and Gordon Lightfoot were among the first bookings — and the 10,000-capacity room, with gorge cliffs rising in the background and the evening air rolling off the river, makes it one of the better outdoor concert experiences in Western New York. August 12 is the only Upstate New York stop on the tour. Showtime is 6:00 PM.
Tickets
Tickets for Howard Jones at Artpark are available now via Ticketmaster. Artpark is located at 450 South 4th Street, Lewiston, NY 14092, approximately seven miles north of Niagara Falls.