BLACKMORE’S NIGHT THE FIRST TIME IN RUSSIA. ROCK MENESTREL IN ACOUSTICS AND ELECTRIC

On April 14, 2002, famous rock guitarist Ritchie Blackmore performed with his band Blackmore’s Night at the Luzhniki Sports Palace in Moscow. That was its first visit to Russia and the long-awaited performance of Ritchie Blackmore – the famous guitarist and author of the hits Deep Purple and Rainbow. After many attempts by other agencies to invite Ritchie and his new band, only the JSA Promoter team managed to book the musicians and make a gift to Russian fans of the rock star.

The musical style of the new band is different from what Richie Blackmore previously did as a rock musician. The JSA Promoter team knew about this situation and did not hide it from the public. Usually, this performance of Blackmore’s Night was intended for small halls. But considering the interest of rock legend fans, the concert was organized at the Luzhniki Sports Palace (capacity of 10,000).

Of course, the audience of many thousands was a little upset, for there was no energy of hard rock in the show of Blackmore’s Night. The beautiful soloist Candice Night performed with dignity, and with every song, she conquered the hearts of severe rockers. Finally, the concert was great, and new songs in the medieval-style music of Ritchie Blackmore got many fans in Russia.

The band came to present their new album Fires at Midnight. That was a part of the Acoustic/Electric Tour 2002. The event promotion was carried out jointly with the company SOYUZ (UNION) which was a distributor of sales of musical CDs & DVDs in Russia. Also, the NCA company joined the project – they provided the Blackmore’s Night concert in St. Petersburg. The JSA Promoter team created a special website for the concert. That was a big step and helped the development of online culture among the audience in the event sector. The official presentation of the website dedicated to the Blackmore’s Night concert in Moscow took place on March 11, 2002.

Another pleasant aspect of the Moscow visit of Blackmore’s Night was that the concert happened on Ritchie’s birthday (he was born on April 14, 1945).
Therefore, after the successful performance at Sports Palace, all the musicians and the JSA Promoter team went to one of the Moscow clubs (which was like a castle) for the celebration. At that party, Ritchie and Candis gave a small concert for themselves and some guests.