Country tribute bands coming to The Amp

May 8, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

WARREN

Fans of the Downtown Amphitheater will have a whole new type of music to enjoy this summer with the addition of a Friday-night series of country-music shows called Country@The Amp.

The series, which starts June 8 with the Tim McGraw tribute band Live Like You Were Dying, will bring 11 main acts, each with two opening acts.

Admission is $7 — free for children 12 and under — said Dan Sferra, former Warren mayor and one of the three men who created the series.

Sferra, his brother Dave Sferra and former city operations superintendent Dave Mazzochi make up 3D Productions, the series promoters.

River Rock at The Amp, the established rock and roll tribute series, will return this summer with 13 Saturday-night shows.

“We wanted Warren to have the best tribute acts for our size in the nation, and I think that’s what we’ve done,” Dan Sferra said in announcing the series Monday at the amphitheater.

“It’s really pleasing how thoughtful 3D was to use national acts and support our local acts as well,” said Doug Franklin, Warren mayor. “Every weekend, we’ll be jamming down at The Amp.”

Tickets can be purchased at the Giant Eagle in the Elm Road Plaza.

Dave Sferra is a former Warren bar owner. Mazzochi was a keyboardist and singer for the Warren horn band Mom’s Apple Pie, which opened across the country in the 1970s for The Kinks, David Bowie, The Doobie Brothers, The James Gang, Blue Oyster Cult and The Guess Who.

“I’ve always been involved in music,” Mazzochi said. “We were fortunate to be able to travel all over the country. I’ve always been a fan of all types of music my whole life. Country today is a lot like rock and roll.

“I’ve always liked country music, and country music is so popular,” Mazzochi said. “There’s a place for rock, and there’s a place for country. It may be a different audience for each, but the point is we’re going to bring people into Warren.”

Bob Miller of Niles, a member of the Back Porch Rockers, said one nice thing about country music is that it is “a family thing,” drawing in fans of all ages.