If you were alive and listening to rock radio in the 80’s, you heard a lot of Poison, the good-looking, Los Angeles band that sold over 40 million albums worldwide and 15 million in the U.S. alone.

See front man Bret Michaels play outdoors Thursday night with his Bret Michaels Band along the riverfront, downtown Peoria, on what’s expected to be a perfect night for rock. Get tickets at the gate or online at Tailgatentallboys.com.  Bret Michaels and Ricki Rockett were having success in the early 80’s, playing the Pennsylvania bar circuit, but departed their hometown of Mechanicsburg, PA, for the bright lights and music scene of Sunset Strip in 1984 – and hit it big.

Poison’s glam-rock/hair-band/metal style launched the band to international rock star status. Their hits include: “Nothing But a Good Time,” “Talk Dirty to Me,” “Unskinny Bop,” “Every Rose Has its Thorn,” “Something to Believe in,”, etc. They got lots of radio play in the decade of decadence.

Bret went on to have success as a solo artist, too, and his acting talents landed him in a couple of movies (Michaels and Charlie Sheen created a movie development company) and on reality TV. He was once a judge on Nashville Star, then in 2007 starred in Rock of Love and its later sequels. Bret won Celebrity Apprentice 3 in 2010, the same year he had a health scare.

See Bret Micheals Thursday night outdoors along the riverfront. It’s the official kickoff night to the annual Tailgate N Tallboys, sponsored by Inked Entertainment. Then it’s country stars taking the stage Friday through Sunday nights, with Brett Young, Kane Brown, Brett Eldredge and many others playing this weekend.

Doc Watson