America returns to stage at OC Fair

When the folk-rock band America recorded with producer George Martin — who oversaw most of the Beatles’ catalog — in the 1970s, it had a major act to follow.

And, when America takes the stage Thursday night to open the Pacific Amphitheatre’s summer concert series at the OC Fair, its accompanying orchestra will be in formidable company as well.

In 1975, America performed its first symphony concert at the Hollywood Bowl. The opening act was Martin himself, who took the conductor’s baton and led an orchestra in renditions of Bach, Beatles tunes and pop hits.

“We can say we’re probably one of the only pop acts, if not the only act, to ever have George Martin as our opener,” Dewey Bunnell, one of the trio’s founding members, said by phone.

Thursday, the Toyota Summer Concert Series will open with America onstage with the Pacific Symphony. The show kicks off exactly one month of performances, which range from Americana (Willie Nelson & Family) to punk (the Offspring) to ‘80s pop (Huey Lewis and the News). For those still craving a Beatledom connection, the tribute band the Fab Four is on the docket.

It’s not the first time America has performed at the OC Fair — it previously appeared in 2011 — or the only time it’s joined the Pacific Symphony. Last year, the orchestra concluded its season with a performance alongside the “Sister Golden Hair” hitmakers at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

Bunnell, who said America does several symphony shows per year, found it difficult at first to graft his band’s low-key acoustic sound onto full orchestral backing. He warmed to the idea, though, as he realized that doing so helped to expand the audience both for America and its accompanying ensembles.

“For me, it was a little intimidating at the beginning doing symphonies, because you’re dealing with highbrow musicians, and I’m a self-taught singer and guitarist,” Bunnell said. “But there’s nothing like hearing that symphony swelling up behind you.”

The last time America played the OC Fair, it had a very different collaborator: the ‘70s rock band Three Dog Night, a staple at the fair.

Dan Gaines, the fair’s entertainment director and Pacific Amphitheatre general manager, said the series’ organizers have made a point to rotate Three Dog Night’s co-headliners over the years. (The band will share the bill with Jefferson Starship this summer.)

“The one they did with America was the most well-received and well-attended show,” Gaines said.

America’s classic hits — which also include “Ventura Highway,” “Tin Man” and “A Horse With No Name” — comprise most of its concert set, but the band also works in some new material.

At least, it’s somewhat new: Bunnell and Gerry Beckley, the other surviving original member, recently released “Lost & Found,” a collection of outtakes over the years that Bunnell described as “13th songs on 12-song albums.”

The band delves deeper into the past with the videos it plays onstage, many of them featuring the band in its original incarnation as a trio. Dan Peek, the third member, left in 1977 to pursue a solo career and died in 2011.

Asked if he had a personal favorite America song, Bunnell named one with a special connection to the Pacific Amphitheatre’s region.

“‘Ventura Highway’ still rings true to me,” he said. “It’s about that optimistic sun-surf-beach-California myth that I like. The songs remain eternal. Of course, we’re the ones aging. So the goal for any act like ours is to recreate a time, a period.”

Stuart Chafetz, the Pacific Symphony’s guest conductor for the show, is happy to revisit that time. A longtime America fan, he called getting a chance to work with the band “a dream come true for me.”

As for the company he’s in historically?

“Nobody can fill Martin’s shoes, obviously,” Chafetz said. “But I’ll certainly do my best to get the orchestra and the OC Fair rocking.”

If You Go

What: America with Pacific Symphony

Where: Pacific Amphitheatre, OC Fair & Event Center, 100 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa

When: 8 p.m. Thursday

Cost: $23.60 to $46.40

Information: (714) 708-1500 or https://www.pacamp.com/pa