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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) \u2014 Lisa Lisa\u2019s 40th Anniversary Tour will be making a stop in Bakersfield at Dignity Health Arena at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 17.\u00a0 Take a moment to let that sink in.<\/p>\n
It has been four decades since Lisa Lisa rose to fame as the lead singer of the New York-based band Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam. That was when her first release \u201cI Wonder If I Take You Home\u201d hit the charts.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t feel alone if it is difficult to believe so much time has passed. Lisa Lisa (whose real name is Lisa Velez) admits that she has a hard time wrapping her head around it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still feel like I\u2019m 16 when I am on the stage, I really do,\u201d Lisa Lisa says.<\/p>\n
Anyone who doubts she has the energy of a 16-year-old can see proof when she takes the stage here. It will be a night of musical nostalgia as also performing will be Expos\u00e9, Color Me Badd, The Jets, Rob Base, Tag Team, J.J. Fad,\u00a0and\u00a0Candyman.<\/p>\n
The secret to Lisa Lisa\u2019s teenage energy is her continued passion for music.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all in my heart. It\u2019s all for the love of the music and the entertainment. I love to sing. I will do almost anything to be on a stage and entertain my audience. That\u2019s all it is,\u201d Lisa Lisa says. \u201cThe energy from the audience, that\u2019s all I need. That\u2019s all I need to give them what they want. And I know exactly what they want. They want those classics.\u201d<\/p>\n
The New York-based band Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam became known for their crossover hits that blended freestyle, dance-pop, R&B, and ballads.\u00a0The group\u2019s hits include \u201cHead to Toe\u201d, \u201cAll Cried Out\u201d, and \u201cCan You Feel the Beat.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lineup of performers has changed throughout the tour but Lisa Lisa stresses that whoever takes the stage will be performing one hit after another.\u00a0 The job for Lisa Lisa and her band is to wrap up the show and she promises to perform every one of her songs that became a hit.<\/p>\n
Long before she was linked with Cult Jam, Lisa Lisa was already singing her heart out as a member of her church choir in Manhattan\u2019s Hell\u2019s Kitchen.\u00a0As the youngest of 10 children, she learned at an early age that a loud voice was needed if she wanted to be heard.<\/p>\n
Her musical passions come from her parents who were members of an aparanda band when they met in Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey would go around and knock on people\u2019s doors and get paid in food. Anything and everything that we did in my home was to music. When my mom was cleaning, cooking, helping with homework, anything, she played music,\u201d Lisa Lisa says.<\/p>\n
A lot of her history was revealed in the 2025 Lifetime biopic \u201cCan You Feel the Beat: The Lisa Lisa Story.\u201d The made-for-cable production gave Lisa Lisa an opportunity to pursue her other passion \u2013 acting \u2013 as she played her mother in the film.<\/p>\n
Along with a long list of music videos \u2013 where Lisa Lisa now questions her fashion choices, especially a certain pink dress \u00a0\u2013 she has appeared in such productions as \u201cLaw & Order\u201d and \u201c5th<\/sup>\u00a0Burrough.\u201d Lisa Lisa was heavily involved with musical theater when she was in high school. She points out that all the music videos she made helped with her acting because in each one she had to play a role while singing.<\/p>\n Her biggest acting role was in the Nickelodeon series \u201cTania.\u201d She played the mother of a 15-year-old with dreams of becoming a singer and an actor. The 2001 series was on the air for only 26 episodes but that was enough to leave an impression.<\/p>\n Fans who show up for her show are those old enough to remember her debut, those who watch the cable series and young music lovers who have found her music.<\/p>\n \u201cI watch the audience, and first of all, I want to thank them because of them, I\u2019m still here. You see the audience with their children and their children\u2019s children,\u201d Lisa Lisa says. \u201cI think some of that has to do with the fact that I did the series on Nickelodeon.<\/p>\n \u201cI also just love the fact that today\u2019s music, it\u2019s all a remake or a retake. A bunch of samples. And that\u2019s what hip-hop music is today. I thank God every day that they\u2019ve been sampling me.\u201d<\/p>\n Tickets for the anniversary tour starting at $153 are on sale now at\u00a0AXS.com<\/a> or at the theater box office.<\/p>\n Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/i><\/p>\n