Everybody has that one song that instantly transports them back to a different time and place.
Maybe it was the first dance at their wedding, a song their family never seemed to turn off, or the tune with a message that spoke to their soul. Decades Rewind, with a high-energy celebration of music from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, will take Verona audiences down memory lane on Saturday, Nov. 2 – all the way back to music’s “Golden Era.”
Decades Rewind shares “All That Music”
As a young child, music always echoed throughout Peter Gatti’s Italian family events while growing up.
He recounted his grandfather playing the accordion, while his uncle played the organ.
“One day, I sat down at the organ and said to my dad, ‘I want to take lessons,’” Gatti explained. “And then here I sit.”
These days, though, Gatti is playing more than simply the organ he was introduced to at 10 years old. Now, he creates dynamic sounds as a keyboardist.
Peter Gatti, co-founder of Decades Rewind, will bring his keyboard to Verona on Saturday, Nov. 2 for a high-energy performance with the Verona Area Performing Arts Series.
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“Whether it’s a piano part, a violin part, an organ part, a trumpet part – whatever I can make that keyboard sound like in this day and age of music,” Gatti said.
With these skills at hand, Gatti co-founded Decades Rewind, a touring show that held its first concert in 2016. The group features five musicians, three vocalists and most recently, a narrator.
Decades Rewind set out to tour with a mission, Gatti said: to play the songs that everyone grew up with, bring back memories, and have fun.
“Quite frankly, when we started, we had no idea what it would amount to,” Gatti told the Press. “We didn’t know if we’d be a little bar band, a club band, a party band – and little by little, it got bigger and bigger.”
Decades Rewind ended up touring over 200 shows around the United States after its inception, but then COVID-19 quickly shut the group down. The nine-person band has since hit the road again, with a show planned at the Verona Area High School Performing Arts Center on Saturday, Nov. 2.
While the group still covers music from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s – a period Gatti described as music’s Golden Era – the show itself has changed over the years. In Verona, Decades Rewind will be performing their show with the theme, “All That Music.”
“That’s truly what we emphasize throughout the show – all that music,” Gatti said.
Audiences can expect medleys of hit songs from artists like Elvis, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Billy Joel and more. The show is not specific to one genre of music, Gatti noted.
Between each medley, the narrator will share stories about the music being performed. There will be plenty of opportunities for people to dance and sing along.
Gatti told the Press his favorite part of the show is when the group performs “Hey Jude” by the Beatles. By the end of the song, the entire crowd is waving their hands back and forth.
“You get the chills,” Gatti said. “I get the chills every time.”
Another favorite moment of the show happens when the Disco medley kicks off.
“If people haven’t been jumping up and down or dancing in their seats, that starts the party,” Gatti explained.
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At the end of the day, Gatti told the Press making audiences happy is the most rewarding part of his job. The group holds meet and greets after each show, where the most common words expressed are “memories,” “tears” and “fun.”
“The biggest joy I get is bringing excitement to people – seeing them have fun, literally bringing back memories, and many times seeing tears in their eyes,” Gatti said.
Decades Rewind will take the stage for their Verona performance of “All That Music” at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 2. Gatti hopes audience members close out the “crazy world” and enjoy themselves at the one-night-only show.
For more information about Decades Rewind, visit decadesrewind.com.
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