Allstar Jam of Jeff Skunk Baxter, Derek St. Holmes, John Elefante kicks off summer with the classics

Photos by Andy Argyrakis

Outdoor concerts are officially open for business and Get Loud Entertainment’s Allstar Jam Summer Kickoff was one of the best possible ways to signal the season’s arrival over Memorial Day weekend, which took place just beyond the Illinois border in Crown Point, Indiana and featured a portion of the proceeds benefitting many brave military families through the Operation Homefront organization.

Bulldog Park was full of rockers ready to get a glimpse of Jeff Skunk Baxter, a co-founding guitarist for Steely Dan and later addition to The Doobie Brothers, plus former Kansas front man John Elefante and fellow singer/axe-slinger Derek St. Holmes (Ted Nugent, Aerosmith’s Brad Whitford), all of whom were backed by the exceptional band Sixwire of “Nashville” television fame and countless superstar sessions.

Baxter naturally took the closing slot given his legendary status, a fact cemented throughout such Steely smashes as “Black Friday” and “My Old School,” the latter of which was re-recorded on “Speed Of Heat,” an extremely belated but nonetheless brilliantly-crafted solo debut.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Sixwire also recalled the jazzy “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” accurately replicating and honoring the notorious perfectionists, followed by Elefante lending his versatile voice to Steely’s “Reelin’ In The Years” and the Doobies’ “Takin’ It To The Streets” as the originator let loose on his six-strings with jaw-dropping dexterity and virtuosity.

 The dial turned towards the progressive and symphonic stylings of Kansas when Elefante and company turned in “Point Of Know Return,” “Hold On” and a delightfully rearranged “Dust In The Wind,” always demonstrating exceptional vocal form and sparking multiple sing-a-longs.

Though technically a Foreigner tune, “Cold As Ice” allowed for a further flexing of the multiple Grammy and Dove Award winner’s pipes, prior to “Carry On Wayward Son” serving as a timely call to end all the world’s craziness and mirroring the inspirational spirit of his latest personal long player, “The Amazing Grace.”

St. Holmes took an even heavier and bluesier approach to the primary tunes he helped popularize alongside the Motor City Madman, growling and stomping through “Just What The Doctor Ordered,” “Hey Baby” and “Stranglehold.”

He really revved up come “Catch Scratch Fever,” enhanced again by the muscle and musicality of Sixwire, who besides backing everyone, opened and played a killer crowd-pleasing combo of tried and true covers, including the Eagles, Journey, Chicago and Bon Jovi, in between sets.

After more than two hours of classic individual and collaborative moments, the Allstar Jam certainly lived up to its namesake as it toasted the troops who made the holiday weekend possible in the first place, while setting the bar pretty high for this summer’s nearly endless streak of shows.

For additional information on Jeff Skunk Baxter, Derek St. Holmes and John Elefante, visit JeffSkunkBaxter.com, Facebook.com/DerekStHolmes and JohnElefante.com.

For a list of upcoming Get Loud Entertainment concerts, visit GetLoudEntertainment.com.