You know the hits, staples of classic rock radio, and soundtrack to many out-of-body experiences. Jefferson Starship, child of Jefferson Airplane, was a top-grossing band in the 1970s and 80s, and continues to tour to adoring fans today.
You’ll have a chance to be one of those fans when the band plays a May 3 show at Bally’s Twin River in Lincoln, along with tourmates the Marshall Tucker Band. I learned more about the show in a phone call last week with singer/guitarist and frontwoman Cathy Richardson, who serves the role once held by the legendary Grace Slick.
“The 50th anniversary of Jefferson Starship is this year. We’ll be celebrating by going back to the music of Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, and Starship, a solid-packed greatest hits show,” said Richardson.
“It’s a co-headline bill, but sometimes because we play first, they make us play a little bit shorter set. But if we get a little more time, we’ll maybe play something from our new record and maybe get into some deep cuts and some of the weird stuff,” laughed Richardson. That means you can expect to hear enduring Starship hits including “We Built This City,” “Jane,” and “Miracles” alongside Airplane classics like “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love.”
The boomer band is playing to enthusiastic crowds and selling out regularly. “I feel like it’s finally coming back since COVID; we’ve been doing a lot of touring, booking a lot of new venues, and teaming up with other classic rock bands. I don’t think we’ve ever played Twin River. We’re finally able to get out and do meet-and-greets with the fans.”
The current lineup has been together for years. “This group all played with (founding member) Paul Kantner up until his death in 2017,” said Richardson. “I’ve been in the band 16 years, along with original member David Freiberg, Chris Smith, who’s been with the band for over 25 years, and drummer Donny Baldwin. And Jude Gold, our youngest and newest member, who’s only been in the band 12 years.”
Like many iconic rock bands, Jefferson Starship is experiencing a resurgence, with younger fans discovering the band through TV, film, and social media, something Richardson notices at concerts. “We see a lot of boomers, but younger kids too,” she explained. “You’ll see kids out there wearing tie-dies; it’s cool for them to come and hear it live. I love going out the merch table and meeting the crowd after the show, taking pictures, you just get to meet all walks of life.”
The band continues to record new music, including Mother of the Sun, a 2020 release that was warmly embraced by longtime fans. It was their first album since 2008.
“Mother of the Sun was a really cool project,” says Richardson. “After Paul (Kantner) died, and we got the blessing to move forward, one of the things the family said was to make new music. I’ve written songs my whole life and so have the other guys. I said, let’s just get together and jam and see what happens.”
“So we got together at David’s house and started jamming, and out of that, all of these little song seedlings were born,” continued Richardson. “I asked Grace (Slick) to send me some lyrics and that ended up being part of ‘It’s About Time,’ one of the songs on the album. We had Pete Sears, the original bass player come in and play on a few of the songs. We did a song that Chris Smith, our keyboard player had written with Marty, with kind of a jazz standard vibe, like a Tony Bennett kind of thing. Its so beautiful, a really sweet song, ‘Don’t Be Sad Anymore.’ It’s a cool EP. I’m really proud of it.”
“This band’s mission is to put Jefferson Starship back on top again. That’s been our goal and we’ve been chiseling away at it.”
Click here for further information and tickets to the show.
