Jack Russell Revisits New England

Jack Russell’s Great White will play its first show in New England since the Station nightclub fire in 2003 that left 100 people dead and many others injured.

Photo: James P. Hendershot

M3 Rock Festival, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Md.

The band is gearing up to headline Party in the Pasture Rockfest at Harvest Hill Farms in Mechanic Falls, Maine, Aug. 15. North East Concerts’ Stan Miller told the Lewiston Sun Journal the event can serve to promote healing in the region.

“We know we can pull this off, creating a safe environment for everyone,” he said. “Everything we have heard from Jack is he is welcoming it. He’s extremely excited to play our event. The fans of New England want to hear their version of the hit songs Great White performed live, and we’re simply giving them an outlet.”

Great White, which included Russell at the time, was performing at the Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., in February 2003 when tour manager Dan Biechele fired off some pyro gerbs that ignited flammable soundproofing foam on the club’s walls and ceiling.

Photo: AP Photo

Charred drums sit on a shelf inside a warehouse in Cranston, R.I., used to house evidence retrieved from The Station nightclub fire.

Russell parted ways with Great White years later, forming his own faction of the band with a new lineup in 2011.