Visions of Paradise, after the break!
John Fogerty @ The Encore Theater, Las Vegas (01/25/2025)
Back in October 2024, my Sister had a strange dream about Creedence Clearwater Revival's figurehead John Fogerty. Emphasis on "strange" because how often is John the focal point for someone's visions especially for a non-fan like herself? One in a million probably?
So, in secret, my Sister began to plan a road trip to see John Fogerty live... somewhere. The aging legend has been on a touring whirlwind since he won back Creedence's music rights back in 2023 so there was still an opportunity. One of which worked for all of us. She saw that John was gonna be performing at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas on my Birthday weekend! Funny how all these pieces are falling into place, right? Stranger than fiction.
I am the big CCR fan in the family clan. Their greatest hits haven't left my Apple Music catalog for nearly a decade on top of considering "Lodi" to be one of... if not MY... favorite songs of all time. Has held a special place in my soundtrack since I left the TV show in 2017. Defines my current era better than any blog post ever could. No, John didn't play "Lodi" that night sadly but we got plenty CCR fan service including the soulfully iconic "Proud Mary" to close the encore portion.
(you can check out the setlist here!)
John Fogerty's Celebration Tour has been running hard across the globe for close to two years by this point and it is nice to see the experience evolve into a full family show featuring his wildly talented children. John gives them all a proper spotlight throughout the lengthy nearly two-hour showcase too. Proving his & Creedence Clearwater Revival's legacy will be carried beautifully into the future. My sister and I joked that could've been our story too if my father had more focused musical ambitions.
What an amazing victory lap after all the rises, falls, restarts, and heartbreaks ever since CCR broke apart in the early 70s. Some fights last a day, others... a lifetime. This listener is happy John got to celebrate winning the war in such spectacular fashion with a generation of fans in Paradise.
Will talk more about my second Vegas birthday weekend soon, but until then... enjoy the photos!
Photos
(Shot with [my] Samsung Galaxy S23 FE)
