Lita Ford with Dee Snider – Treasure Island Event Center – Welch MN – March 28th 2025

 Lita Ford (with Dee Snider and FireHouse) – March 28, 2025 at Treasure Island Resort & Casino, Welch, MN

Review and photos by Jim Zons

Rock bands from the 1980s and 1990s produced some of my favorite music … and that feeling hasn’t gone away even decades later!  On Saturday evening, March 28, 2025 some rockers from my favorite era of music rolled into the Event Center at Treasure Island Resort & Casino just outside of Red Wing, MN, and my 21 year old rock and roll daughter decided to tag along with ol’ dad to catch the show!

First on stage was FireHouse.  FireHouse first burst onto the scene in the early 90s with their debut album, Firehouse, with their signature glam-rock and power ballad sound, which hasn’t changed a bit since then. Today’s line-up which took the stage at TI Saturday night consists of original bandmates Michael Foster on drums and Bill Leverty on guitar. Joining them were bass player Allen McKenzie who has toured and recorded with FireHouse since 2004 and new lead vocalist, Nate Peck, who just replaced original lead vocalist C.J. Snare who passed away from colon cancer in 2024.

From the first song, 1992’s “Rock You Tonight,”  FireHouse put on a great, throwback to the 1990s hair band show, with all of their US hits, including rockers like “All She Wrote,” “Shake & Tumble,” power ballad hits like “Love of a Lifetime,” and of course perhaps their biggest hit, “Don’t Treat Me Bad.”  C.J Snare was really irreplaceable as lead vocalist with his unique voice, and they had an extended tribute to him with video clips; however, new lead vocalist Nate Peck certainly was up to the task as new frontman with great vocals and a ton of fresh energy.

Next up, the “Queen of Heavy Metal” … Lita Ford.  Lita Ford has been playing guitar since she was 11 years old, and had success early in her life when she was recruited to join the all-female band, The Runaways, when she was only 16.  Personal differences drove The Runaways to break up in 1979, and Lita Ford went on to a successful solo career that continues today.  

Her set at Treasure Island was pure rock and roll, and damn:  at 66 years old, this woman can still ROCK!   From 1984’s scorcher “Gotta Let Go” through a catalog of music spanning over 40 years, it was a fantastic night of music.  Joining Lita on stage were fellow guitarist Patrick Kennison, bassist Marten Andersson and drummer Bobby Rock, and they were superb members of the Queen of Heavy Metal’s entourage.  One fun surprise for me was a cover of Elton John’s “Bitch Is Back” which was featured as a bonus track on 2012’s “Living Like a Runaway,” and after listening to that recording, I gotta say; the live version was definitely WAY louder and heavier!   Other songs she played included the Runaways hit “Cherry Bomb” and perhaps Lita’s biggest solo hit, “Kiss Me Deadly.” A bonus addition to the night’s lineup was special guest Dee Snider (sorry: no photos were allowed for some reason) who joined Lita and her band on stage for the Twisted Sister’s hits “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock.”  In between songs, Dee talked about how close Lita and his family are, and how they spend a ton of time together as friends, and you could tell that affection was genuine. Dee stuck around to help Lita sing her hit duet originally recorded with Ozzy Osbourne: “Close My Eyes Forever” and finally they closed the night out with AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell.”  It was a great night of rock and roll, and a perfect father/daughter outing on a Friday night in Minnesota!