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Generating interest on the night before is a "free" Friday performance by touring members of pop-rock recording act The Cowsills - specifically Bob Cowsill, Paul Cowsill and Susan Cowsill, with a backing band.
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If you're planning on attending the Cowsills concert, I encourage you to first watch director Louise Palanker's fascinating, historical documentary "Family Band: The Cowsills Story," presently streaming on the Amazon cable network.
The film was introduced in August 2010 at the Rhode Island International Film Festival. In 2013, it made its network television debut on Showtime.
The documentary - which also includes interviews with Tommy James, Waddy Wachtel and Shirley Jones - tells the behind-the-scenes story of The Cowsills, the family band's rise to fame and its subsequent fall because of patriarch Bud Cowsill's controlling and abusive nature.
From 1968 through 1972, The Cowsills played an average of 200 concerts per year and were among the most popular acts on the American concert circuit.
Since 2015, The Cowsills have been touring across the United States each summer with The Turtles on the latter's annual "Happy Together" tour. Since December 2000, John Cowsill also has played drums with The Beach Boys.
The Cowsills was formed in the spring of 1965 by Bill, Bob and Barry Cowsill, with brother John soon joining the band.
As one brother comments in the film, the last thing any young musician wants is his mom joining his rock band. But when the band hinted at success, family patriarch and Navy sailor Bud Cowsill insisted his wife Barbara, son Paul and young daughter Susan also join.
Only Bob's twin, Richard, was totally left out of the family band during its heyday.
Regardless, this ensemble of mom and six musically-inclined children recorded hits in the late 1960s. Think "We Can Fly," "The Rain, the Park and Other Things," "Indian Lake" and even the title tune from Broadway's "Hair," the latter suggested by Carl Reiner.
The Cowsills also was the very real band that inspired a fictional "The Partridge Family" TV hit in the 1970s. starring Jones that also launched the late David Cassidy's career.
Band members Friday likely will bring back memories for many, leaving the documentary to touch on any darker history. The Cowsills' musical legacy, however, remains interesting - and their songs fun.
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