Sat 7/11 at 8PM
Thu 7/16 at 7:30PM
David Bowie in NEO illuminates why and how David Bowie chose Northeast Ohio to kick off his first-ever US tour, creating an international superstar, presented by Thomas Mulready and Vanity Crash, along with special guests.
Bowieologist Thomas Mulready in collaboration with glam punk heroes Vanity Crash, and musical and special guests, traces the rise of David Bowie in Northeast Ohio, from the local Space Oddity-era fan club, to WMMS radio jocks Billy Bass and Denny Sanders championing the relatively unknown artist, to his September 22, 1972 U.S. debut at Cleveland Music Hall and beyond.
This multi-media event includes Vanity Crash (7/11 & 7/16) alongside special musical guests Cowboy Princess Brigade (7/11), Mourning [A] BLKstar (7/16), and Time Cat (7/11 & 7/16) from Akron & Cleveland performing seminal music from one of the most creative and influential artists of the past century, along with their own original music, plus former DJ Billy Bass (7/16) and photographer/writer Anastasia Pantsios (7/11), one of the few who captured the artist at his debut.
In addition to live music, the show features exclusive video interviews with WMMS Radio DJs Billy Bass & Denny Sanders, Bowie’s drummer Woody Woodmansey, and pianist Mike Garson, whose first gig with Bowie was that 1972 Cleveland debut show, and Mick Ronson biographers Rupert Creed & Garry Burnett speaking from Hull, England, the home of The Spiders From Mars.
Performances will take place on the following dates:
*Saturday, July 11, 2026 at 8PM at Akron Civic Theatre Knight Stage, 182 S. Main St, Akron, OH 44308 (https://www.akroncivic.com/neo-rewind-series-vanity-crash-presents-david-bowie-in-neo-2026-07-11)
*Thursday, July 16, 2026 at 7:30PM at The Music Box Supper Club, 1148 Main Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44113 (https://musicboxcle.com/event/neo-rewind-july16/)
Additional information, photos and interviews available upon request.
More information: https://VanityCrash.com
The live shows will feature bands and guest artists from Akron & Cleveland performing Bowie deep cuts and favorites, along with a selection of their own original songs, to illustrate how this iconic artist continues to influence generations of artists:
*Vanity Crash: Glam punk heroes from Cleveland with five releases of original material, Vanity Crash was born on stage under hot lights as the house band for Hedwig and the Angry Inch, preparing to record their sixth original release, having shared the stage with the New York Dolls, Poison, the Darkness and Gogol Bordello, including two collabs with David Bowie’s pianist Mike Garson. VanityCrash.com (7/11 & 7/16).
*Time Cat: Raw and explosive, soulful and gritty, Akron’s Time Cat has three original album releases and has opened for Chrissie Hynde & The Pretenders, Muse, and Juliette Lewis, among others. Their performances leave crowds sweaty and perhaps questioning what’s really going on in the universe. TimeCatMusic.Bandcamp.com (7/11 & 7/16)
*Nate Bocchicchio & Ruby Rose Weston of Cowboy Princess Brigade: Multi- instrumentalists and “Glamericana” soul band Cowboy Princess Brigade of Cleveland have released a triptych of EP releases featuring original hillbilly/bluegrass/rocksteady/funk grooves both familiar and refreshingly distinctive. CowboyPrincessBrigade.com (7/11 only).
*James Longs & RA Washington of Mourning [A]BLKstar: Multi-generational, gender, genre non-conforming amalgam of Black culture, Mourning [A] BLKstar, is dedicated to sharing stories and songs of America’s unfolding apocalypse. Founded in Cleveland, they
have toured globally at festivals from Crossing Border in Berlin to Big Ears and Le Guess Who? in Utrecht. In 2026, they will release their 10th album in 10 years. MourningABLKstar.com (7/16 only).
In addition, special guests will appear live on stage, including WMMS DJ and Program Director Billy Bass (7/16 only) discussing how he helped break the artist in the U.S., and how his career and life became permanently intertwined with David Bowie. Also live on stage, special guest photographer and writer Anastasia Pantsios (7/11 only) will discuss the multiple David Bowie concert appearances she photographed and the artist’s cultural importance.
* Billy Bass: Legendary disc jockey Billy Bass, one of Cleveland’s most popular broadcasters at WIXY and WNCR, was an influential figure, bringing progressive radio to WMMS-FM as it’s Program Director, breaking artists like David Bowie and anointing Cleveland “The Rock & Roll Capital of the World,” before becoming Senior VP at Chrysalis Records and managing superstar Luther Vandross, in turn being acknowledged in autobiographies of Chrissie Hynde, Debbie Harry and others.
* Anastasia Pantsios: A renowned photographer and writer known for her work in music photography, particularly focusing on women in rock, Anastasia Pantsios began her career in 1969 and has had her photographs featured in major publications such as Rolling Stone,
Spin, The Village Voice, Esquire, Creem, Hit Parader, and The New York Times, while publishing a book, Girls to the Front: Girls: 40 Years of Women in Rock, in conjunction with an exhibit of her work at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.