R&B Group En Vogue Joins Subaru Summer Concert Series Lineup

Sharon Stello
Aug 20
5 min read

Audiences can groove to the music at a venue with Back Bay views as this annual Newport Beach tradition continues through October with performances from pop to jazz, bluegrass, rock, R&B and soul.

En Vogue, from left: Rhona Bennett, Maxine Jones, Terry Ellis and Cindy Herron will perform Oct. 3 as a part of the Subaru Summer Concert Series in Newport Beach. Photo courtesy of Hyatt Concerts

Bringing a touch of nostalgia to the lineup, R&B sensation En Vogue will take to the stage Oct. 3 as part of the Subaru Summer Concert Series in Newport Beach this year. The recently announced addition will feature one of the vocal group’s original members, Maxine Jones, joining the tour for the first time in a decade.

Although En Vogue came to prominence in the 1990s with hits like “Hold On,” “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It),” “Free Your Mind,” and “Whatta Man” (a collaboration with Salt-N-Pepa), the group also released albums in 2000, 2004 and, most recently, 2018 – with some of members changing over the years. Currently consisting of Jones, Cindy Herron, Terry Ellis and Rhona Bennett, En Vogue is considered one of the top five highest selling American female music groups ever with more than 20 million albums sold.

TOP ROW, from left: Haley Reinhart and Peabo Bryson will perform on the same night (Oct. 17); singer-songwriter Richard Marx performed earlier this summer. BOTTOM ROW, from left: Jazz duo Tuck & Patti (Aug. 22); trumpeter Chris Bott (Sept. 19); musician Brian Culbertson performed earlier this month. Photos courtesy of Hyatt Concerts

En Vogue joins other performers in the annual summer series, which kicked off in June and continues through Oct. 24 with several Grammy Award winners and other standout musicians in genres from jazz to pop, bluegrass, rock, R&B and soul. Of the upcoming performers, series producer Rich Sherman said he’s most excited to see “jazz star … Chris Botti, world-famous guitarist Tommy Emmanuel CGP (Certified Guitar Player – a title bestowed by Chet Atkins to only a handful of players), vocalists Peabo Bryson and Haley Reinhart, and En Vogue, of course.

“En Vogue announced that their fourth original member, Maxine Jones, is returning to the group and was looking to play a select number of shows in 2025 – so we were thrilled to confirm them,” Sherman said.

The musicians will play at open-air venue Back Bay Amphitheater, located at Hyatt Regency Newport Beach, with seats arranged on a terraced lawn overlooking the Back Bay. Audiences can enjoy music under the stars as the sunset melts into the horizon. With capacity for only 1,000 people, it’s one of the more intimate outdoor venues in the area, not to mention its stunning coastal setting.

“There is no more scenic venue on the water in Orange County,” Sherman said.

Aside from general seating, season passes are available as well as preferred sections, which include a $25 donation from every ticket purchase to Make-A-Wish Orange County & the Inland Empire. Meanwhile, Skybox Viewing offers an elevated experience with a private balcony for impressive views of the stage and Back Bay as well as food and beverages for 20 guests and self-parking for 10.

The Back Bay Amphitheater overlooks the water in Newport Beach. Photo courtesy of Hyatt Concerts

Starting in the mid-1990s with only four shows, the summer series has grown to include 10 to 12 concerts per year with a number of big names gracing the stage over the past three decades. “We have been fortunate to feature a wide range of pop, jazz and rock headliners over the years, including Smokey Robinson, Kenny Loggins, Chaka Khan, Chris Isaak, Common, Trombone Shorty, Kenny G and many more,” Sherman said.

Coming up next this year on Aug. 22 is Emmanuel, a Grammy-winning acoustic guitarist whose style ranges from pop to rock, bluegrass and jazz. This will be his first time performing in the summer series.

“I have never played at Back Bay (Amphitheater), but am very excited for the show,” Emmanuel said. “The Newport Beach area is nice and I always visit John Wayne’s grave when I come to town.”

He plans to perform fan favorites but also some new music he’s been working on. “I love playing for people – it’s what I do, what I live for,” Emmanuel said. “I hope the folks come along, forget their troubles and let their hair down.”

Grammy Award-winning guitarist Tommy Emmanuel will perform Aug. 22. Photo courtesy of Hyatt Concerts

Originally from Australia, Emmanuel has played at the Sydney Opera House among other iconic locations. His musical talents were apparent from a young age and he began performing with his family’s band as a child.

“I’ve loved the sound of the guitar ever since I was born,” Emmanuel said. “My mother put my pram (stroller) in front of the record player – that’s the only way she got me to sleep. She was my first guitar teacher, showing me how to accompany her as she sang songs and played her Hawaiian steel guitar. My whole family played music together and toured a lot in the ’60s.”

After his father died, Emmanuel started playing with bar bands around Sydney and sleeping on floors in the city’s red-light district. His skills on the six-string started catching the attention of all the right people and, by his early 20s, Emmanuel was playing on hit pop and rock singles as well as touring with some of the biggest stars in Australia.

Eventually, he came to Nashville, Tennessee, and met his musical hero, which would change his life. “When I was 10 years old, I wrote a fan letter to Chet Atkins,” Emmanuel recalled. “I put: Chet Atkins, Nashville, America, on the envelope with some stamps and posted it. He received it and wrote back to me. We became friends like that and then I came to meet him in 1980. We were instantly family. He encouraged me and kept in touch all through my career back in Australia.”

In fact, Atkins was so impressed by the young fingerpicker, that he became a mentor and gave Emmanuel the title of Certified Guitar Player, or CGP – one of a select few musicians to receive the accolade. The pair even recorded a duet album together in the mid-1990s. “What an honor. What a dream come true,” Emmanuel said. “I try my best to honor him every night on stage.”

Emmanuel is inspired not only by Atkins, but “everyone from Django Reinhardt to Eric Clapton, B.B. King to (Andrés) Segovia, Carole King to Ed Sheeran, Hank Williams to Taylor Swift .… I love it all, as long as it has soul.”

His goal, he said, “is to tell stories with my music, take people out of their ordinary life and make them happy.”

And that, too, is the goal of the concert series: to help audience members forget their worries and put a smile on their faces, at least for a few evenings this summer.