‘Tis The Season to be Jolly and also the season for the Gary Hoey Ho! Ho! Hoey Christmas show. It has become a guitar rock Christmas tradition and Hoey brought that tradition to the Wolf Den at the Mohegan Sun casino on his 2019 tour.
Joining him onstage was Matt Scurfield on drums and AJ Pappas on bass. The trio gave the enthusiastic crowd a night full of seasonal joy and jamming blues and rock all done in a fun and lighthearted way.
Hoey has been a driving force behind instrumental rock Christmas music since 1995 after his version of “The Twelve Days Of Christmas” was introduced to the public and he has taken his remixed, rock out versions of traditional Seasonal hits to on the road each year since.
Hoey is a phenomenal guitar player and you can tell he thoroughly enjoys the interactions with the audience. He began his career when his he was noticed by Ozzie Osbourne in 1987. He playing and career gained more recognition when he reached the Billboard Top 5 with his song “Hocus Pocus.”
In addition to the Christmas rock he played a couple of songs off his “Neon Highway Blues” album. This is the 21st album from guitarist Gary Hoey which was released last spring.
The Wolf Den audience had a great time bringing in the season with a rocking good time. If you have the chance to see Gary Hoey anytime, not just during the holidays, do it. Hoey, Scurfield and Pappas put on a fantastic show.
http://garyhoey.com
Review by Donna Erichsen
Photos by George Bekris