Michaels to bring a 'good time' to RiverPark on Thursday

Sep. 13—Singer-songwriter and musician Bret Michaels will be ready to rock Owensboro at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15 at the RiverPark Center as part of his "Nothin' But A Good Vibe Tour."

Growing up in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, Michaels became known as the frontman of the '80s glam metal band Poison.

The group's debut album, "Look What the Cat Dragged In" in 1986, reached the top three and was certified 3x Platinum, while their follow up record "Open Up and Say... Ahh!" in 1988 brought the group to more international prominence, reaching the top 10 in Australia, Canada and New Zealand and the top 20 in the United Kingdom and eventually going 5× Platinum in the United States.

One of their most well-known songs is the 1988 power ballad "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," which reached number-one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

Michaels embarked on a solo career, releasing the hard rock soundtrack "A Letter from Death Row" for the 1998 movie of the same name that he starred in, wrote and co-directed with Marvin Baker before releasing his debut studio album "Songs of Life" in 2003.

Michaels followed up with a country rock record "Freedom of Sound" in 2005, followed by two top 40 albums — "Rock My World" in 2008 and "Custom Built" in 2010 — with the latter peaking at number 14 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart.

His most recent album, "True Grit," was released in 2015.

Additionally, Michaels has made a career as a reality television star on shows "Rock of Love with Bret Michaels," "Bret Michaels: Life as I Know It," "Rock My RV with Bret Michaels" and as a judge on the third season of USA Network's singing competition "Nashville Star."

Michaels has also been vocal in his support of the military — with his late father being a military veteran and his cousin Bobby, who sells merch and greets patrons on the road at shows, served in Vietnam and has earned two Purple Hearts.

Michaels' vocal prowess ranked him as the No. 40 greatest heavy metal singers of all-time per Hit Parader magazine in 2006.

Michaels recently ended his run with The Stadium Tour with Poison, Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts.

Michaels was met with praise from audiences and critics for his performances throughout the tour.

Despite a minor setback during the tour where Michaels was hospitalized due to a medical complication before a show in Nashville in June, he was back just days later for a show in Jacksonville and continued to entertain fans up to the tour's final stop at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sept. 9.

He's also been balancing his performances with Poison with his own solo tour shows "in front of incredible, record-breaking crowds crossing three generations of rock, pop and country fans."

Rich Jorn, executive director of the RiverPark Center, has hosted Michaels in the past in another capacity, and compliments the artist's connection to people, work ethic and personality.

"He's probably one of the most fan connected guys you'll ever meet," he said. "His fans absolutely adore him .... He's really, really connected to his fans, he's always so fan-focused.

"Here's a guy ... that goes out there night after night and puts himself all out there on the stage and he's struggling with Type 1 diabetes .... He works hard and struggles with it, but he bounces back and he puts his all in it. He's just a great, genuine, hard-working (musician). He loves everything about it and it shows."

Jorn said Michaels puts on "a heck of a show" that is assured to be "high energy."

"It's (in the) song, 'ain't nothin' but a good time,' " he said. "That's the vibe. If there ever was truth in advertising, that's what he sells and that's what he delivers."

Tickets are still available at riverparkcenter.org.