The stylish rosé beach party known as Seaglass will return to the sand along A1A in Fort Lauderdale on Friday through Sunday, offering a profusion of blush wines, food and all the sexy people chilling in flamingo-colored attire.
Best known for its all-inclusive offering of more than 30 rosé wines, along with spirits and craft beer, this year Seaglass will feature an expanded menu of food from some of the area’s favorite dining spots. They include Burlock Coast, Even Keel, Coconuts, Carlos & Pepe’s, Timpano, Wine + Garden, Hatch, Boardgasm and Sicilian Oven, among others.
While the event will include the customary DJ, the creators of Seaglass understand that the go-to good-times soundtrack these days is music that’s nearly 50 years old from the likes of classic-rock icons such as Journey and Styx.
There may be no better translator of those songs than South Florida tribute band Majesty of Rock and its extraordinary lead singer John D’Agostino, who will headline Friday’s opening night at Seaglass. Saturday’s musical act will be alt-pop band The Collektives (featuring Tatiana Blades), followed on Sunday by country singer Gabriel Key.
Fort Lauderdale-based Majesty of Rock has been playing the hits of Journey and Styx on the tribute band circuit for a decade, performing everywhere from private country-club soirees to local park festivals on both coasts of South Florida (their next local concert is at Weston Regional Park on Feb. 10). Business is good, but that’s not why they do it.
“This is the stuff we grew up with. It makes us happy when we can play it and we see the response of the crowd,” says bandleader and bassist Rob Doyle, 60, a Tamarac resident and telecommunications engineer by day. “It’s good music. If it’s good music, it’s always good music. It’s never gonna lose that.”
Majesty of Rock is not a tribute band concerned with trying to look like Journey and Styx, but puts in hours of rehearsal time to “sound as close as we can to what people remember, to what people hear on the record,” Doyle says.
At his peak, Journey frontman Perry had one of the most distinctive and powerful voices in the history of rock music. While singers in many Journey tribute bands struggle to hit and hold the higher notes in songs such as “Don’t Stop Believin’” and “Open Arms,” D’Agostino makes it all seem effortless. His rendition of Journey’s ballad “Faithfully,” with minimal accompaniment from the band, is a cell-waving showstopper.
It all works for Hollywood resident Becky Coleman, who first saw Majesty of Rock a few years ago at a festival in Dania Beach.
“They were so great. They respect the music and just let the songs speak for themselves. That’s all I want, you know what I mean?” says Coleman, 45. “Of course, the singer is amazing. He looks like a rock star.”
D’Agostino is a New York native who grew up in Coconut Creek and performed in various South Florida cover bands since he was a teenager. He had a unique ability to handle the soaring vocals of some of the most popular bands in pop and rock, from early Bee Gees to Journey, Styx, Boston, Kansas and Rush.
Doyle was a veteran of several cover bands in South Florida and his native Canada when he discovered D’Agostino performing in a bar in Coral Springs and pitched the idea of a Journey cover band.
“When you close your eyes, most people say they hear Steve Perry. They still say that to this day, which is a testament to John, his natural ability and the work he’s done with his voice,” Doyle says.
D’Agostino, 65, who lives in Delray Beach and works a day job in home remodeling, acknowledges being obsessed with Perry since he first heard Journey’s 1978 single “Lights” on the radio. He’s had no vocal training, unless you count the hours of his youth spent listening to favorites David Gates (Bread), Dan Fogelberg and Art Garfunkel, then Perry, Dennis DeYoung (Styx) and Steve Walsh (Kansas).
“I wasn’t normal. Everyone called me a freak of nature,” he says, laughing. “I grew up with speakers on either side of my head, playing these songs, trying to sound exactly like them, getting in perfect timing with them.”
His ability to work in the higher vocal range came naturally, D’Agostino says.
“When I was younger, I sounded more like a girl. So I used to do a lot of female vocals back then. I used to do Heart, Pat Benatar,” he says, laughing. “Boston was so easy for me. Rush was easy, until I got about 25, because (singer Geddy Lee) was really high.”
Performing the music of Journey in Majesty of Rock — other members of the band include guitarist Daryl Tomas, keyboardist Barry Gruber and drummer Dennis Pelchat — is “the highest honor” he can give to Perry, D’Agostino says, and he’s happy to share the music with others who love it.
“If you listen to any one of our shows, almost every song, everyone is singing,” he says.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Seaglass — A Fort Lauderdale Rosé Experience
WHEN: Friday, Jan. 26 through Sunday, Jan. 28
WHERE: On the beach across from the Bahia Mar Fort Lauderdale Beach hotel, 801 Seabreeze Blvd.
COST: $150 for general admission 7-10 p.m. Friday, 6-9 p.m. Saturday and 2-5 p.m. Sunday; $200 for VIP tickets, with entry an hour earlier each day (VIP cabanas also may be reserved each day)
INFORMATION: SeaglassExperience.com; MajestyOfRock.band
Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Instagram @BenCrandell and Twitter @BenCrandell.