Carl Palmer to Share the Musical Legacy of ELP at The State Theatre

Emerson, Lake & Palmer lives on and to prove it, founding member Carl Palmer is on tour to celebrate the group’s music. Palmer will hit the The State Theater on Friday during the final leg of his aptly named “Emerson Lake & Palmer Lives On!” tour.

Palmer is a renowned drummer and a founding member of both ELP and Asia. The show will feature ELP’s progressive rock that produced some of the sounds associated with the 1970s.

ELP had nine gold records in the U.S. and sold an estimated 48 million records worldwide. The band was one of the most popular and commercially successful of the 1970s. The band was together from 1970 to 1979 and reformed from 1991 to 1998 and again in 2010.

Palmer’s latest CD was an international release of “Pictures at an Exhibition,” a tribute to bandmate Keith Emerson, who died in 2016. Greg Lake also died later in 2016, leaving Palmer as the sole surviving original member of the band. The tour gives him an opportunity to carry on their legacy.

For the tour, guitarist and vocalist Paul Bielatowicz and bassist Simon Fitzpatrick will join Palmer in playing hits such as “Lucky Man’” and “From the Beginning,” along with other progressive rock songs.

“The band is running on all cylinders and has never sounded better,” Palmer told Centre County Gazette. “Fans can expect the biggest hits of ELP, along with some of its epic pieces, all presented with a full visual element of special films created for the tour.”

Whether someone remembers those songs from hearing them on the radio or any number of soundtracks through the years, or if they are new to the music all together, crowds of all ages should appreciate the artistic show that will feature a cinematic aspect.

“We have a screen at the back and we project on to the screen various images that relate to the music being played,” said Palmer.

And while Emerson, Lake & Palmer was a keyboard-driven group, the songs will be delivered mostly on string instruments, brining a fresh sound to the hits.

“Emerson Lake & Palmer music has been played by orchestras, big jazz groups and string quartets, but it has never really been presented like this, so it is a different form of excitement,” said Palmer. “The material is very familiar. Obviously we play some of the classic hits by ELP, so this just gives it a different twist.

“It is always good to play a new way with a new concept, as I say with the guitar. It all sounds very fresh to me, because I am still deeply involved with the music,” he said. “This just seems like a more honest way to portray it at the moment.”

This will be Palmer’s first time playing in State College and he said he is excited to share his sounds with a new area.

The tour will also highlight his collection of fine art, recently done in conjunction with California’s Scene Four Art Studios. The images combine motion, color and lighting into some of the most compelling fine art visuals ever created. View the Palmer art collections at www.CarlPalmerArt.com.

The show starts at 8 p.m. and ticket information is available at on The State Theatre’s website, www.thestatetheatre.org.