The ’80s were a very long time ago, and yet, pop culture’s greatest decade remains timeless. The music lives on forever as well, as those who made their mark are still out on the road showing off songs that are often older than the crowds that came to hear them. The latest MTV-flavored retro dance party package tour to make the rounds in 2024 is the Totally Tubular Festival, which crashes a new wave down on Lansdowne Street at MGM Music Hall at Fenway tonight (July 17).
The Boston date on this ongoing tour, according to the venue’s hompeage, features Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins (”Hold Me Now”), the pictured Modern English (”I Melt With You”), Men Without Hats (”The Safety Dance”), Wang Chung (”Everybody Have Fun Tonight”), Bow Wow Wow (”I Want Candy”), Tommy Tutone (“867-5309/Jenny”), and Eddie Munoz of The Plimsouls (”A Million Miles Away”).
That’s a spicy hit parade!
“This is a dream lineup for those who love the music of the early 1980s, and for those who want to relive the days…” says Jon Pleeter of Totally Tubular Festival. “You wore dayglow, you wore parachute pants, you had big hair, perms and more perms, mullets, leg warmers, along with tons of buttons and lots of rubber bracelets. You wore sunglasses at night. The choruses were big, and the hooks were bigger — the party didn’t end.”
TOTALLY TUBULAR FESTIVAL :: Wednesday, July 17 at MGM Music Hall at Fenway, 2 Lansdowne St. in Boston, MA :: 5:45 p.m., all ages, $36.50 to $70 :: Event info :: Advance tickets