Beautiful day. U2 tribute band marking 20 years with free Plain amphitheater show

Chris Stafford became entranced with the music of Bono and U2 while watching the rock band on MTV in the 1980s.

“I discovered the U2 (live) album, ‘Under a Blood Red Sky,'” the 55-year-old Plain Township resident recalled. “The whole show from Red Rocks was shown on MTV; it hit me over the head like a brick. And I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is something I’ve never seen or heard before. I was hooked.'”

Stafford’s fandom for U2 would only grow as the band became one of the most commercially successful rock groups in the world. And it led to him becoming the lead singer of the Stark County-based U2 tribute band ONE.

ONE will be playing its biggest Canton area show on Aug. 29 at Plain Township Amphitheater, 2600 Easton St. NE. The free concert is sponsored by Grant Giltz and Oakwood Square. Giltz owns Oakwood Square.

ONE has performed across the Midwest, including Indiana, Illinois and Michigan, as well as Toledo, Dayton and Cleveland. Shows in Stark County have been more sporadic, and that’s why Stafford is excited about the Plain Amphitheater concert.

“To have a gig in your backyard is kind of fun because you can bring out family and friends and people who have wanted to see you for a while but haven’t been able to make a trip,” he said.

“Being in a tribute band, you have your ups and downs,” said Stafford, who works full-time as the owner of a North Canton-based maintenance company. “We’ve played gigs where there were five people in the bar … and then you’ll play Lock 3 (in Akron), and there’s 4,500 people there. We’ve played up at Progressive Field, and we’ve played a playoff game (in the concourse between the basketball arena and baseball stadium in Cleveland), and it was packed.”

Helming a U2 tribute band

Stafford’s path to his own music career wasn’t immediate. At Jackson High School, he played sports but didn’t participate in the band.

He played clarinet in middle school, and took a choir class for a semester in college.

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Stafford was a member of the rock band Ockham’s Razor, which recorded a demo record in the early aughts. He also released an 11-track album of original music in 2021 called “Junk Drawer,” under the name Stafford & Co., featuring area musician Benjamin Payne, as well as a cover of the U2 song “40.”

Stafford also performs in another tribute band, Grunge-N-Glam, which plays both glam metal and grunge rock songs.

ONE was formed in 2005, a time when tribute bands were gaining popularity, he said. Other members of ONE are guitarist Rick Friedline; bassist Dave Huthmacher; and drummer Bob Devereaux.

Devereaux and Huthmacher live in Stark County, while Friedline lives in Mansfield and is a former Hartville resident.

Friedline nails Edge’s guitar playing, Stafford said.

“When you hear him play and when you close your eyes, you’ll think that’s him,” he said.

Of the band overall, Stafford said: “When you watch U2 as much as we do and listen to U2 as much as we do, I guess your soul just soaks that up as a sponge.”

‘Top-tier’ U2 tribute

Stafford has gotten to know other musicians and bands in the area’s scene, including New Wave Nation, a popular ’80s tribute act, featuring founding members Ken Harding and Jay Secrest.

Harding said he’s known Stafford and other members of ONE for more than 20 years.

“They’ve always been one of the top-tier tributes in the area to U2,” he said.

“Their stage show reminds me of the ZOO TV era of (U2), which was really what inspired my band, New Wave Nation, back in the day to use televisions in our stage production,” Harding said. “Their utilization of visuals really bring the power of U2’s music to life and ONE perfectly captures that essence.”

Stafford said Alex Sweeney handles sound, lighting and videos for ONE, calling him “the best sound guy around here.”

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What makes U2 special? ‘They write meaningful songs.’

U2, a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band, makes music with substance, Stafford said.

“They write meaningful songs, they write meaningful lyrics,” he said. “And Edge, he’s an iconic guitar player.”

ONE’s setlist includes “With or Without You,” “I Will Follow,” “Beautiful Day” and “One.” Deeper cuts are sometimes incorporated, including “Staring at the Sun,” “Exit,” “All I Want Is You” and “Gone.”

U2’s frontman Bono is also known for his philanthropy and humantarian efforts in fighting poverty, hunger and AIDS.

“They’re just overwhelmingly popular,” Stafford said. “However, you either love them or hate them. I don’t usually know people who are in the middle. But we don’t incorporate any politics in our shows, whatsoever.”

Replicating Bono’s vocals is no easy task, including hitting falsetto notes and breathing properly, Stafford said.

Since Stafford’s vocal range and register are a couple of notes lower than Bono, the band tunes down a half step.

“It’s been a little challenging,” he admitted. “I am me, so naturally at the end of a set, I don’t care what band you’re in, you just fall back on what you do naturally for some reason.

“… I’m kind of celebrating the music with the fans in the crowd, so I can get lost in that a little bit.”

Reach Ed at [email protected]. Follow on Instagram at ed_balint and TikTok @edwardbalint.

If you go

Who: U2 tribute band ONE

What: Concert at Plain Township Amphitheater, 2600 Easton St. NE. Sponsored by Grant Giltz and Oakwood Square.

When: 7 p.m. on Aug. 29

Admission: Free

This article originally appeared on The Repository: U2 tribute band ONE playing free Plain amphitheater show near Canton