Rob Garrett's Tribute to Neil Diamond at The Cannery 1/22/11

Like his legendary counterpart, Rob was born and raised in New York City. His main musical influences while growing up were Elvis, the Beatles, and quite naturally Neil Diamond. In 1974 he moved to Las Vegas along with his parents and younger brother. In 1980 he formed the group 'Rock 'n' Roll Heaven' and for 15 years achieved prominence as the leader and front man of that city's premiere 'oldies' and classic rock group

Rob first saw Neil Diamond in his first Las Vegas concert engagement when he made his Las Vegas debut opening the 'Theater for the Performing Arts' at the Aladdin Hotel/Casino in 1976. "He held the audience including myself spellbound, and broke all existing Las Vegas concert records at that time. I had been a fan since 1969 and I'd always thought that he had written some of the most poignant lyrics I'd ever heard and I knew he had a way of expressing his lyrics and music in a way that no other singer/songwriter had done so before or since".

In 1995 Garrett was personally hired by John Stuart and Paul Revere (of 'The Raiders') to portray Neil Diamond in the 'Legends In Concert' show in Honolulu, Hawaii, that city's biggest theatrical show and most popular 'impersonation' type show in the world. What was to be a two-month 'trial' engagement for Rob had ended up being 3 years.

"Neil's a phenomenon as witnessed by any of his recent sold out concerts. Anytime he decides to hit the tour circuit he breaks attendance records and always ends up as one of the top 5 money grossing concert attractions of the year. He has become this polished consummate performer who doesn't rely on big production and choreography to make his show work. He's the last of the breed that I refer to as minstrels, the performers who get on the stage for two hours with just their guitars and backup band and can still bring an audience to their knees. He's still got it, but unfortunately it seems as if he's touring less often these days and when he does tour it's in select places and always sold out way in advance. A lot of people who would like to, never get the chance to see him perform. I love the challenge of re-creating the 'live' performances of this great musical legend who I hope still has many years of performances left in him."

In August of 1998 Rob returned home to Las Vegas. Since then, has kept up a steady schedule of touring around the country (and occasionally the world), performing in more towns & cities than any other tribute artist in the industry. He has developed a large following and is known worldwide as the ''King of Diamonds'', North America's most popular and sought after Neil Diamond tribute act.

On May 28th 2008, Rob was honored by the Entertainment Network by receiving the 'Male Musical Tribute Artist Award' at the annual Celebrity Impersonator Convention in Las Vegas, marking the first time ever, a 'Neil Diamond' act has won such an honor. The following month, he performed to an audience of 15,000 at Utah Valley University and 5000 at the Mizner Park Amphitheater in Boca Raton, Fl.

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• Rob Garrett'
• Neil Diamond
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• 1/22/11
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