Beach Boys tribute band to perform at Carson City’s Mills Park
Woodie and the Longboards, the number one Beach Boys Tribute band in the west, is coming to Carson City on June 13.” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.carsonnow.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/meta-eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ.jpg.webp?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.carsonnow.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/meta-eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ.jpg.webp?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1″ />
By Ronni Hannaman — What’s not to like about Beach Boys songs whether you grew up listening to their iconic music in the 1960’s through the early 1970’s when they were at the height of their popularity, or even six decades later as tribute bands continue to play homage to the era when all seemed right with the world and the Baby Boomers ruled the music scene.
As the Carson City Chamber celebrates its 80th anniversary on Friday, June 13, today’s governing board decided the best way to celebrate this milestone is to present a free family-friendly concert under the covered Teixeira Pavilion in the east end of Mills Park.
This family-friendly event features free Carson and Mills Park Railroad rides courtesy of Southwest Gas, food and drink vendors and the effervescent and acclaimed Woodie and the Longboards, reputed to be not only the best Beach Boys Tribute Band in the West but the only 5-star rated Beach Boys Tribute band in the nation according to the event services booking platform The Bash. This hometown concert is brought to you courtesy of Hometown Health.
The music of the Beach Boys is still the music for all ages and organizer and leader John “Woodie” Keating and his band have received rave reviews after playing for major corporations including Google, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Bankers Association and many others along with performances at resorts, casino and many summer nights at large venues on the beach.
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Keating founded the band in 2002 after a 13-year career as frontman for a Disneyland house band. After leaving Disney, he asked musicians he played with over the years to join his newly formed band soon to be known as “That 70’s band” and “That 60’s Band.”
Their perfect rendering of the iconic tunes of that time caught the attention of an agent who wanted to book them at an Oregon casino to play a Beach Boys tribute but preferred to promote a more beachy sounding name.
Thus, in 2007 they rebranded themselves as Woodie & the Longboards to better denote their passion for Beach Boys music. Fans of the Beach Boys may remember the early record covers of the original band in various beach scenes that included a surfboard often referred to as a longboard. Thus, they included the longboard in their name. and Keating became “Woodie.”
Keating states, “We’ve never looked back,” and today, this band from Riverside, Calif., continues to be popular, playing over 100 shows annually.
The five-member band includes Keating or “Woodie,” a passionate professional musician and frontman. In his youth, he ran a music store before going into teaching, and is still teaching fifth graders after 28 years. He’s so good on guitar that actor John Stamos, a drummer in the original Beach Boys band, asked him to teach him the guitar. Though a few of his bandmates have played with the original Beach Boys, Keating never did.
The “Longboards” are talented professionals and play various instruments and are all considered to be top notch singers according to Keating.
Andy Young plays the keyboard and guitar and is a “great bass vocalist singing the parts sung by original Beach Boys Mike Love,” as stated by Keating. He joined the band in 2008.
Joe Manchego, bass player, has “toured with just about every one hit wonder from the 50’s and 60’s,” states Keating. Can you just imagine the stories he could tell! He became a Longboard in 2016.
Drummer Ricky Cosentino, formerly toured with the bands War and Ambrosia, the hit bands of the early 70’s and joined the band in 2018.
Keyboardist Mark Keating, the son of Woodie, first played with the band when in high school and has been playing on and off with them ever since.
The band is very versatile and changes hats now and then performing as Heartache Tonight paying tribute to the music of The Eagles, and The Hard Days Knights taking on the persona and music of the Beatles.
The Chamber’s free anniversary concert begins at 6 p.m. with the free train rides beginning around 5:30 p.m. There will be a paid VIP section to include food prepared by the chefs of Casino Fandango, drink and a private dance floor. The public will be seated within the pavilion and there will be an area to dance to the famous tunes.
We thank our prime sponsors: Hometown Health, Health Care Association, Southwest Gas, United Federal Credit Union (UFCU), Teri Preston, Coldwell Banker Select Commercial, Casino Fandango, Finest Fence, and the Carson Farmer’s Market which begins the next day Saturday, June 14.
Close your eyes and be transported back to a time when the Beach Boys were all the rage. Carson City is proud to have this fun and exciting group to play those tunes we continue to love. In our 80 years, we’ve heard lots of music and still get excited when a Beach Boys tune hits the airwaves.
Don your red sneakers and beachy shirts and white “pedal pushers” and join in the good, good vibrations that will rock Teixeira Pavilion beginning around 6 p.m. on Friday, June 13. Make this a family event! VIP tickets available to include BBQ, drinks, upfront seating and more, go here.
— Ronni Hannaman is Executive Director of the Carson City Chamber of Commerce.
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