Every year at Christmastime, Gary Hoey makes a set list and checks it twice.
Gary Hoey’s Rockin’ Holiday Tour is coming to town on Thursday to present “Ho Ho Hoey.” Regardless if people have been naughty or nice, everyone is welcome at the 8 p.m. show in the Rockbar Theater in downtown Reno. It’s all-ages show. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Reno’s classic rock gem, the Greg Golden Band, will open the show.
“Gary’s great. I dig his style,” Golden said. “He plays in a three-piece band so there is no room for any mistakes. His phrasing and the vibrato in his licks are world class. It’s just the best.”
Golden’s first experience with Hoey was four years ago when he stepped onstage for an impromptu jam at a club in Long Beach, California. Golden was sandwiched between legendary guitarists Frank Hannon and Hoey. Golden also jammed with Hoey a few months ago at the Rockbar, the former site of the Knitting Factory next to Reno’s famed “Biggest Little City in the World” arch.
Hoey has presented this holiday rock show for more than two decades. He’s released 20 albums, including 2016’s “Dust & Bones.” Hoey is a blues rocker with a heavy emphasis on blues. He has toured with Jeff Beck and co-written songs with Lita Ford.
Tickets are $15.
The Greg Golden Band will play from 8 to 9:30 p.m., followed by Gary Hoey from 9:45 p.m. to 11. Then Golden will join the trio onstage to deliver more holiday treats for music fans.
Golden’s band features former members of Montrose, and the boys have been tearing it up lately in both Reno and Lake Tahoe, with a new record to be produced by Frank Hannon expected out soon.
“It’s 95 percent complete,” Golden said. “It should be finished by the end of January but I don’t want to rush it. It will have 12 originals.”
