The Fourth Annual Ride & Concert For Ronnie James Dio Readies To Rumble

Scott Legato / RockStarProPhotography.com – Ronnie James Dio
Heaven and Hell concert at Meadow Brook Music Festival in Rochester Hills, Mich.

A West Coast springtime tradition, the Ride & Concert For Ronnie James Dio will bring the thunder of finely tuned machines to Southern California on the first Sunday in May.

Singer/songwriter/bassist Ronnie James Dio, who sang in Elf, Black Sabbath, Rainbow and, of course, Dio, died of stomach cancer in May 2010.

Presented by the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund, the ride begins with a continental breakfast at Harley-Davidson of Glendale May 6, followed by the ride to Los Encinos State Historic Park in Encino, where participants and observers can rock out the rest of the day to live music, participate in live auctions, participate in a raffle and check out food trucks while rocking the afternoon away.

“It’s great fun. … Every year it’s getting bigger and bigger,” Wendy Dio told Pollstar.  “[Radio/TV personality] Eddie Trunk always hosts it for us.  We’ve got a great lineup this year –  Steven Adler’s All Starr Band, he brings in all kinds of wonderful musicians.

Craig Newman – Lita Ford and Wendy Dio
Ride & Concert For Ronnie James Dio.

“We have Alice Cooper’s daughter’s band, Beasto Blanco, with Chuck [Garric] and Calico [Cooper].  We have Dio Disciples with [Tim] ‘Ripper’ Owens, Oni Logan, Simon Wright, Craig Goldy, Scott Warren and Bjorn Englen – Ronnie’s bandmates who were with him for the last 17 years.  We have Slash’s young son [London Hudson]’s band, A Classless Act.  We have a Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band, One More From The Road, and Railgun.”

Last year’s Ride For Ronnie Motorcycle Ride and Concert raised over $40,000 and this year’s event just might surpass that amount.

“The first year, I think we had 100 something [riders]” Wendy Dio told Pollstar.  Then the following year we had 350.  Last year … it was raining [but] we still got 150.  We’re hoping, this year, we’ll have about 300 riders.”

Ride For Ronnie sponsors include Harley-Davidson of Glendale, Law Tigers, Ninkasi Brewing Company, Graffiti Wines, Archie’s Ice Cream and Los Angeles radio station 95.5 KLOS.  Visit the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund website for more details.