‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Brings Mandatory World Tour to Aurora July 2
Call your brother, your sister, your high school buddies and your coworkers, because “Weird Al” Yankovic is bringing the Return of the Mandatory World Tour to RiverEdge Park, at 8 p.m. Saturday, July 2, and it’s going be one big outdoor party in downtown Aurora.
Gates open at 6:30 p.m. at beautiful RiverEdge Park, 360 N. Broadway, directly across from Metra’s Aurora Transportation Center, on the banks of the Fox River.
Last year, Weird Al’s Mandatory World Tour took the curly-haired, accordion-playing comic genius and his band to more than 100 cities in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia.
In 2016, the four-time Grammy Award winner is taking the return of his high-energy comedy rock show to Aurora’s RiverEdge Park and more than 70 cities across North America, including the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
Yankovic says Kane County residents will go to the show, and they will like it.
“I decided to do the Mandatory World Tour for one more year, after learning that some people didn’t make it out to the show this last time around,” he said. “Apparently, they don’t know the meaning of the word ‘mandatory’!”
The tour follows Yankovic’s 2015 Grammy-winning Mandatory Fun, the first comedy album in more than 50 years to hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts and the first comedy album in history to debut at the top spot. The single “Word Crimes” debuted in the Billboard Top 40, making Yankovic one of only three people to have had Top 40 singles in each of the last four decades. The other two are Michael Jackson and Madonna.
Tickets are $40. Purchase tickets at RiverEdgeAurora.com, call the RiverEdge box office, 630.896.6666, or stop by in-person at RiverEdge’s satellite box office, the Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Boulevard, Aurora, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday-Saturday. Tickets will also be sold on-site day-of-show, starting at noon.
About ‘Weird Al’
“Weird Al” Yankovic is the biggest-selling comedy recording artist in history, earning four Grammys and 15 career nominations. He is best known for his hilariously irreverent parodies of hit songs by the biggest stars in the musical universe over the past three decades, including “Eat It,” “Like A Surgeon,” “Smells Like Nirvana,” “Amish Paradise,” “White & Nerdy” and “Tacky.”
He has also found success in the film world with his cult classic UHF, his CBS TV series The Weird Al Show, online with The Nerdist Channel with his faux celebrity interview web series Face 2 Face with “Weird Al” Yankovic, in the publishing world with Weird Al: The Book (an illustrated hardcover on Al’s life and career) and his children’s books, including the New York Times bestseller When I Grow Up.
In addition to this year’s tour, Yankovic is co-host and bandleader for the fifth season of the cult classic Comedy Bang! Bang! on IFC, the voice of the title character in Disney XD’s new animated fall series Milo Murphy’s Law (from the creators of Phineas and Ferb), Executive Producer of a TV show based on his best-selling children’s books (being developed with the Jim Henson Company), and star and creator of an on-air promotional campaign for SundanceTV. A series of Weird Al retro-clothed action figures from NECA is to be released over the next two years.
He recent appeared on the ABC hit series Galavant (as a singing monk) and The Goldbergs (as the ’80s version of himself), with voice-over roles including spots on Gravity Falls, Wander Over Yonder, Adventure Time and the DC animated feature Batman vs. Robin. Legacy Recordings has also released a career-spanning box set featuring all 14 Weird Al studio albums digitally remastered in all formats.
Sponsored by Chicago Premium Outlets.
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SOURCE: city of Aurora news release
About RiverEdge Park
Anchored by the contemporary John C. Dunham performance pavilion, RiverEdge Park is a general admission venue with a capacity of up to 8,500, boasting state-of-the-art acoustics and lighting, a warm community feel and gorgeous views on the banks of the Fox River.
RiverEdge is easy to get to from Chicago via Metra’s Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) line. Paid public parking is available in the Metra lot, with additional private lots surrounding the Park and in downtown Aurora. Guests are encouraged to bring folding and bag chairs.
Concessions at RiverEdge boast a diverse menu and bar featuring domestic and craft beers, wine, sodas, bottled water and more, plus festival food tent vendors selling everything from hot dogs to funnel cakes.
New this year: outside food is now welcome in the Park. Only soft collapsible coolers no larger than 12″ W x 12″ T x 12″ L are allowed. All soft collapsible coolers, as well as any other personal items you bring, must be placed under or in front of your chair and must not take up room on either side. No outside beverages are allowed in, with the exception of two sealed bottles of unflavored water per person. All coolers are subject to inspection. One cooler per patron.
