Time for the fan trip!

The Final Rick Springfield Friends Get-Away in Punta Cana is this week!

This long-awaited trip was originally supposed to happen in November 2019 then it got postponed due to some news stories at the time and was rescheduled to May 2020 in Cancun, Mexico. (As you know, THAT one didn’t happen, along with pretty much everything else after March that year.) I think it was rescheduled at that time for sometime in 2021 then was eventually cancelled.

But you can’t just cancel and not rebook the final fan trip, so fortunately it was rescheduled for this week. (But unfortunately I couldn’t go, which is a bummer because I’m sure it will be amazing!)

So I will keep this short and you should go check out his FB page and the RS FB fan groups because there will probably be lots of fun videos there over the next few days (the trip is Oct. 5-9). RS will be there with his best bud Doug Davidson, as well as Mark Goodman, John Waite, actor Eric Martsolf and Mr. Kite & The Henderson’s (Rick’s Beatles cover band.)

I’ll just sign off for now, sitting here not in Punta Cana, writing a blog post in a Beach Bar Rum T-shirt. Cheers.

To everyone who is fortunate to be there – have an incredible time!

The final Rick Springfield + friends get-away scheduled for Oct. 5-9

The announcement has been made. Tickets have been purchased. Fun is to be had.

(For lots of RS fans anyway, not necessarily me, unfortunately…)

Last week, the RS team announced that the “Final Rick Springfield + Friends Getaway” has been planned for Oct. 5-9 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

The all-inclusive event will feature musical guests John Waite and Mr. Kite & the Hendersons (a Beatles tribute band that includes RS), special friends Doug Davidson and Eric Martsolf and host Mark Goodman.

The event includes live performances, meet & greets, Q&A, drinks with RS and additional evets. Sounds incredible!

This “final” trip was originally scheduled at this resort for November 2019 but a few months before that several American tourists became ill or died while visiting the Caribbean country so the RS team decided to move it to Hard Rock Cancun, Mexico in May 2020 instead. And well, you can guess what happened to that 2020 plan.

Hopefully everyone who was expecting to attend the trip in 2019 will be able to head to Punta Cana this October, along with everyone else who wishes to go. The timing isn’t great for me as we have a big family event planned the following week, so I’ll have to rely on social media posts to experience the trip.

I’m not loving the “final” part of the trip name. It sounds so final. Like they’ll never be another opportunity to hang out with RS at a resort again. I totally understand, it’s a lot of work to put on something like this and pretty exhausting for all involved. But still, “final” sounds so final.

Random thought: On rickspringfield.com, the ad for the trip says “One Last Kiss!” but it’s not on the trip website, rickspringfieldgetaway.com/. I wonder if “One Last Kiss” is a song off the album he’s working on? If I can’t look forward to the fan trip, I can at least look forward to some new songs, right?!

Not in Punta Cana

As you may remember (especially if you were planning on going), the Rick Springfield fan trip was scheduled in Punta Cana this week. Because of all the tourist deaths in the Dominican Republic being reported in the news a few months ago, it ended up being moved to Cancun, Mexico and postponed until May 14-18, 2020 (so there’s still time to play and win the lottery!).

So instead of a plethora of videos and posts from the fan trip flooding my RS social media feed this week, it’s a little quieter due to there no being no fan trip this week and no shows scheduled to take its place. However, as indicated in the previous post, RS still keeps himself busy so there’s some activity to catch up on since that previous post. (Although hopefully he’s getting some resting and relaxing in with his family during this time off.)

Honoring a former band mate

The same week he officiated at the Malibu wedding of his guitarist AND was a keynote speaker at a conference in St. Louis, he also performed at an event, the Rock Godz Hall of Fame, honoring his former keyboardist Brett Tuggle, a member of his Fabulous Eels band back in the 1980s.

Forbes covered the evening here: “Rock Godz Hall of Fame Celebrates the Musicians and Industry Behind the Superstars.”

Here’s a slideshow, courtesy of Getty Images:

Embed from Getty Images

Lucky kids

For Halloween, he performed at an elementary school for Great Pumpkin Day. Although I don’t think the kids truly appreciated how lucky they were to be sitting there with him, some of the teachers sang along.

Why at an elementary school, you may wonder?

Rick Springfield helped students celebrate Halloween with a special performance, including singing Witches’ Brew with his son, alum Josh Springthorpe ‘07
– Facebook page of Viewpoint School Alumni Association

Unfortunately I haven’t seen any video of RS singing “Witches Brew” with his son Josh, which was probably pretty adorable.

‘World on Fire’ coming soon?

This weekend, there was also an interview with RS shown on a Philadelphia TV station.

How much would you like to see the unedited version to see what they couldn’t use on camera?!

In the interview he mentions that he’s getting ready to release “World on Fire,” his second novel. Whoo-hoo!

A happy occasion

Despite the inconvenience it may have caused for some, it’s probably good that the fan trip got postponed because apparently his youngest son is getting married this next week so it’s good that everyone will be in the country in the days leading up to the big day. Best wishes and congratulations to the whole family!

Fan trip postponed, moved from Dominican Republic to Mexico

Perhaps you already read the news today, as it was reported on Billboard, Breitbart, CNN, Daily Mail, Fox News, People.com, Page Six, PopCulture.com and a radio station website.

The Rick Springfield & Friends fan trip that was scheduled to take place this November at the Hard Rock Hotel Punta Cana has been rescheduled to the Hard Rock Hotel Cancun in 2020.

In some of these articles, RS was referred to as “the ‘Jessie’s Girl’ Singer” and a “1980s hitmaker” and the fan getaway was called “an upcoming show,” “an upcoming performance,” a “gig” and a “music festival.”

But to devoted Rick Springfield fans who know he is much more than “the ‘Jessie’s Girl’ singer” and “1980s hitmaker,” the fan getaway is the ultimate RS trip because it’s a multi-day RS extravaganza filled with concerts (from acoustic poolside singalongs to piano bar singalongs with special guests to full-band rockin’ concerts), meet-and-greets, fun activities and a whole resort (or cruise ship, depending on the type of getaway) filled with people who feel the same way you do about your favorite rock star.

Disclaimer: I’ve never actually been on one of these trips, but this is my impression of it based on social media posts and videos I’ve watched.

Here’s the full statement, as found on RS’s official website:

Dear Friends,

We have been closely monitoring the situation in the Dominican Republic. In an abundance of caution and for the peace of mind and well-being of my fans, band and crew, the ‘Rick Springfield & Friends’ event in Punta Cana is being rescheduled to take place at Hard Rock Hotel Cancun in 2020. New dates will be determined as soon as possible. We hope to have this announcement within the next two weeks.

As you can imagine, organizing this type of event requires extensive planning and logistics. Unfortunately, we are unable to move the trip to the new location during the November 7-11, 2019 period.

We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding. Once the new dates are formally announced, any guest who wishes to cancel will have an option for a full refund through Rose Tours.

While this decision has not been easy, the safety and well-being of our amazing fans, band and crew will always be the most important consideration in any situation. Sending our love and best wishes to all of our friends in the Dominican Republic.

Thank you for your patience while we work out the new details.

Look forward to seeing you soon in Mexico!
Rick

Although I hadn’t planned on going to Punta Cana and sympathize with those who rearranged their schedules, purchased tickets, etc., I’m relieved because the recent news from the Dominican Republic is worrisome. Is there something sinister happening there or is the media sensationalizing it? I don’t know, but the multiple deaths of American tourists reported does seem to require an investigation and hopefully the families of the victims will get some answers.

As the statement mentioned, the new dates will be announced soon and with the trip relocating a little closer to my part of the world, there’s also renewed hope that I can go…