The Magic Returns with

Two Exclusive Northern California Performances

Diana Ross

Diana Ross appears August 6 & 7 at SHN Golden Gate Theatre in San Francisco

Tickets go on-sale this Friday at 10:00 A.M.

SONOMA COUNTY, CA. (May 9, 2013) — Northern California based Concert Promoters Rick Bartalini Presents announced today that the one and only Diana Ross will return to San Francisco’s SHN Golden Gate Theatre August 6 & 7, 2013. Tickets go on-sale this Friday, May 10 at 10:00 A.M.

Diana Ross’ magical and record breaking sell out in San Francisco in 2011 marked her first performance in the city by the bay since she performed with The Supremes in 1969 at The Fairmont Hotel. To celebrate her triumphant return to San Francisco 40 years later, Mayor Ed Lee proclaimed September 16, 2011 Diana Ross Day in the City and County of San Francisco. Now the magic returns to San Francisco with two exclusive Northern California performances by Diana Ross, August 6 & 7, 2013 at the historic SHN Golden Gate Theatre.

Diana Ross, her music and her voice are legendary.  The concert, a full theatrical experience, will include breathtaking costumes and stage design, along with her incredible band. Her music became the sound of young America in the ‘60s soon after she signed with Motown Records in 1961 with The Supremes.  She embarked on her extraordinary solo career in 1970, and has not stopped since. She is an icon in the entertainment industry selling over 100 million records and with 18 number one hits. She is an Academy Award nominated actress for her unforgettable role as Billie Holiday in Lady Sings The Blues, a Tony and Golden Globe winner, a bestselling author, winner of 8 American Music Awards and a recipient of The Kennedy Center Honors.

SHN’s Golden Gate Theatre is one of the West Coast’s premier venues for live entertainment. Conveniently located in downtown San Francisco, the historic 1922 art deco theatre is a dramatic yet intimate setting.  Located at 1 Taylor Street at Market Street & 6th, the Golden Gate Theatre is close to BART and MUNI.

Tickets for Diana Ross at the Golden Gate Theatre go on-sale this Friday, May 10, 2013 at 10:00 A.M. and can be purchased on-line at www.rbpconcerts.com, www.shnsf.com or by phone at SHN Audience Services at 888-746-1799. Tickets are $70.00, $90.00, $140.00 and $265.00.

Diana Ross’ performance is being produced by Northern California based Concert Promoters Rick Bartalini Presents.

Second Annual New Year’s Performances

Maher will perform New Year’s Eve at the Hawaii Theatre in Honolulu

and New Year’s Day at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center

Tickets go on-sale Saturday at 10:00 A.M. HST

SONOMA COUNTY, CA. (August 31, 2012) — Northern California based concert promoters Rick Bartalini Presents announced that Bill Maher, comedian and host of Real Time on HBO, will return to the Hawaiian Islands on December 31 at the Hawaii Theatre and January 1 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. Tickets for both performances go on-sale Saturday, September 1 at 10:00 A.M. HST.

For the last twenty years, Bill Maher has set the boundaries of where funny, political talk can go on American television.  First on “Politically Incorrect” (Comedy Central, ABC, 1993-2002), and for the last nine years on HBO’s “Real Time,” Maher’s combination of unflinching honesty and big laughs have garnered him twenty-nine Emmy nominations.  In October of 2008, this same combination was on display in Maher’s uproarious and unprecedented swipe at organized religion, “Religulous,” directed by Larry Charles (“Borat”). The documentary has gone on to become the 8^th Highest Grossing Documentary ever.

TICKETS:

Tickets for Bill Maher December 31 at the Hawaii Theatre are $79.50 and $99.50, plus service fees. Tickets are available at www.RBPconcerts.com, the Hawaii Theatre Box Office or charge by phone at 808-528-0506. Tickets for Bill Maher January 1 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center are $65.50 and $85.50, plus service fees. Tickets are available at www.RBPconcerts.com, the Maui Arts & Cultural Center Box Office and charge by phone at 808-242-7469. Tickets for both performances go on-sale Saturday, September 1 at 10:00 A.M. HST.

Connect with Rick Bartalini Presents:

www.RBPconcerts.com

www.facebook.com/rbpconcerts

www.twitter.com/rbpconcerts

ONLY NORTHERN CALIFORNIA APPEARANCE

at the SHN GOLDEN GATE THEATRE

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (June 21, 2012) – Olivia Newton-John returns to San Francisco for a rare one-night-only concert appearance on September 13 at the SHN Golden Gate Theatre. This will be Newton-John’s only Northern California appearance and her first performance in the City by the Bay in nearly a decade.

With a career spanning more than four decades she is still a vibrant, creative individual that is adored by fans across the world. With more than 100 million albums sold, Olivia’s successes include four Grammy Awards, numerous Country Music, American Music and People’s Choice Awards, an Emmy Award, ten #1 hits including “Physical,” which topped the charts for ten consecutive weeks, and over 15 top 10 singles. (In September 2008, Billboard Magazine listed “Physical” at #6 on their Top 100 Songs of All Time list and in 2010 listed it as “The Sexiest Song of All Time”.)

In 1978, her co-starring role with John Travolta in “Grease” catapulted Olivia into super-stardom. This film’s best-selling soundtrack featured the duets “You’re The One That I Want” and “Summer Nights,” with Travolta, as well as her mega-hit, “Hopelessly Devoted To You.”

Adding author to her already impressive career, Olivia’s new cookbook, LivWise: Easy Recipes for a Healthy, Happy Life was recently released and all of her royalties will benefit the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre in her hometown of Melbourne, Australia. As a breast cancer “thriver,” Olivia is thrilled that the Centre will opens its doors to patients on July 2, 2012 – almost 20 years to the day from her own cancer diagnosis.

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TICKETS:

Tickets for Olivia Newton-John range in price from $50 – $90 and are available at www.RBPconcerts.com, www.shnsf.com  or call 888-746-1799.

Newton-John’s performance is being produced by Rick Bartalini Presents

SHN Golden Gate Theatre: 1 Taylor Street (at Market and 6^th)

Just Prior to the Presidential Election 2012

Maher will perform October 20 at the New World-class

Weill Hall at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park and

October 21 at Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium in Santa Cruz

Tickets go on-sale this week!

SONOMA COUNTY, CA. ( JULY 23, 2012) — Northern California based concert promoters Rick Bartalini Presents announced that Bill Maher, comedian and host of Real Time on HBO, will perform two special pre-election concerts at the new world-class Weill Hall at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park on October 20 and Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium on October 21

Along with the top-rated HBO hit “Real Time” and a new bestselling book of his iconic “New Rules,” Maher has amassed an online following of more than 2.3 million dedicated followers and fans.  For the last seventeen years, Bill Maher has set the boundaries of where funny, political talk can go on American television.  First on “Politically Incorrect” (Comedy Central,  ABC, 1993-2002), and for the last nine years on HBO’s “Real Time,” Maher’s combination of unflinching honesty and big laughs have garnered him twenty-seven Emmy nominations.  In October of 2008, this same combination was on display in Maher’s uproarious and unprecedented swipe at organized religion, “Religulous,” directed by Larry Charles (“Borat”). The documentary has gone on to become the 8^th Highest Grossing Documentary ever.  In addition to his television program – Maher has written four bestsellers: “True Story,” “Does Anybody Have a Problem with That?  Politically Incorrect’s Greatest Hits,” “When You Ride Alone, You Ride with Bin Laden” and most recently, “New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer.”

TICKETS:

Tickets for Bill Maher October 20 at the new world-class Weill Hall at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park go on-sale Friday, July 27 at 10:00 A.M. Ticket prices are $89.75, $69.75 and $49.75. Tickets are available at www.RBPconcerts.com and www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets for Bill Maher October 21 at Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium in Santa Cruz go on-sale July 26 at 10:00 A.M. Ticket prices are $69.50 and $49.50. Tickets are available at www.RBPconcerts.com, www.SantaCruzTickets.com or by calling 831-420-5260. Additional service charges may apply.

Experience Sonoma County’s World-Class Weill Hall

Joan and Sanford I. Weill Hall is a new 1,400-seat venue nestled at the foothills of the Sonoma Mountains in the heart of Northern California’s Wine Country. Acoustically designed to rival similar venues around the globe, it is the centerpiece of Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center complex. A traditional shoebox-shaped venue, Weill Hall boasts three floors of handcrafted maple seats, dozens of windows offering breathtaking views, and a modular rear wall which fully opens to a grand lawn – expanding the reach of a concert to thousands of additional patrons. From the first-rate acoustics to the remarkable aesthetics, Weill Hall is a world-class addition to Sonoma County and beyond.

Other Rick Bartalini Presents Events  On-sale Now:

Willie Nelson & Family, September 9, 2012, Marin Center, San Rafael, CA

Olivia Newton-John, September 13, 2012, SHN Golden Gate Theatre, San Francisco, CA

Crosby, Stills & Nash, September 23, 2012, Marin Center, San Rafael

Tickets and information at www.RBPconcerts.com

Connect with Rick Bartalini Presents:

www.RBPconcerts.com

www.facebook.com/rbpconcerts

www.twitter.com/rbpconcerts

High-resolution artwork

Bill Maher:      http://www.rbpconcerts.com/press/bill_maher.jpg

Weill Hall:       http://gmc.sonoma.edu/connect/media/images/

Hot Ticket package
Package Includes:

• Premium Ticket
• Exclusive merchandise item
• Collectible laminate

Please note that you will be contacted via email approximately one week prior to show date with instructions for your package elements.

All packages are NON-REFUNDABLE and NON-TRANSFERRABLE. NO REFUNDS will be given under any circumstances except in the case of concert/entire program cancellation. NO NAME CHANGES will be permitted under any circumstances.

Merchandise item will be shipped directly to the address provided at purchase (alternate shipping addresses are not permitted). Delivery of merchandise may arrive after the show. Please allow a minimum of 30 days after your show date to receive your package. Merchandise is not needed for entry to the show.

Offer is limited to US and Canadian addresses only. Packager is unable to ship outside of the US, Canada or to PO Boxes.

San Jose Center for the Performing Arts

(SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF.) DECEMBER 14, 2011 — Rick Bartalini Presents announced that tickets for the filming of Bill Maher’s new comedy special “CrazyStupidPolitics: Bill Maher Live from Silicon Valley” will go on-sale Friday, December 16 at 10:00 A.M. Tickets for the February 23, 2012 concert at San Jose Center for the Performing Arts will be available at www.RBPconcerts.com and www.Ticketmaster.com

Along with the top-rated HBO hit “Real Time” and a new bestselling book of his iconic “New Rules,” Maher has amassed an online following of more than 1.5 million dedicated followers and fans.  For the last seventeen years, Bill Maher has set the boundaries of where funny, political talk can go on American television.  First on “Politically Incorrect” (Comedy Central, ABC, 1993-2002), and for the last nine years on HBO’s “Real Time,” Maher’s combination of unflinching honesty and big laughs have garnered him twenty-seven Emmy nominations.  In October of 2008, this same combination was on display in Maher’s uproarious and unprecedented swipe at organized religion, “Religulous,” directed by Larry Charles (“Borat”). The documentary has gone on to become the 8^th Highest Grossing Documentary ever.  In addition to his television program – Maher has written four bestsellers: “True Story,” “Does Anybody Have a Problem with That?  Politically Incorrect’s Greatest Hits,” “When You Ride Alone, You Ride with Bin Laden” and most recently, “New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer.”

Tickets for “CrazyStupidPolitics: Bill Maher Live from Silicon Valley” February 23, 2012 at 7:00 P.M. SHARP at San Jose Center for the Performing Arts go on-sale Friday, December 16 at 10:00 A.M.  Tickets are $49.50 and $69.50 and  can be purchased at www.RBPconcerts.com and www.Ticketmaster.com . Please note: Due to the live filming, early arrival is strongly suggested. Doors close at 7:00 P.M. SHARP. There is no late seating and no in and out privileges.

Journalists: High-resolution artwork is available http://www.rbpconcerts.com/press/bill_maher.jpg

With Bill Maher, Yahoo! Sets Out To Launch Comedy Channel – Slate of Original Programming

Yahoo!, the premier digital media company, and Bill Maher have reached a groundbreaking agreement through which Maher will give an uninterrupted stand-up via an online broadcast performance exclusively on Yahoo! Screen.  In an industry first, it will be free to online viewers.  This performance will take place on February 23, 2012 at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, and will mark the launch of Yahoo!’s slate of original video comedy content.  Along with the top-rated HBO hit “Real Time” and a new bestselling book of his iconic “New Rules,” Maher has amassed an online following of more than 1.5 million dedicated followers and fans.  Together, Maher and Yahoo! will deliver new, original content to a massive online audience.

Coming off the heels of Yahoo!’s women’s slate launch, which had nearly 10 million streams in its first month, and as the top destination online for comedy with 1 billion streams of its original programming to date, Yahoo! is adding to its line-up with the Yahoo! Comedy Channel.  Maher’s live broadcast on Yahoo!, “CrazyStupidPolitics: Bill Maher Live from Silicon Valley,” will be followed by a variety of exclusive short form videos with additional big names including Mike O’Brien (lead writer on Saturday Night Live) and Seth Morris (No Strings Attached, I Love You Man, Step Brothers), licensed video content from current sponsors, and Yahoo! original programming. Like the female slate, the Yahoo! Comedy Channel will provide marketers with a huge opportunity to align their brand with world class content via a “Share of Voice” opportunity to buy ad spots across the entire slate of shows. Progressive Insurance has already signed on as a launch sponsor.

“Bill Maher’s special is a groundbreaking event, not only for Yahoo! and Bill but for the internet as the first ever, live, free broadcast online. We are focusing on fresh, original voices like Bill and our other original programs with the Yahoo! Comedy Channel to continue to provide our consumers and advertisers with the best premium content on the Web,” said Erin McPherson, vice president & head of Video at Yahoo!.“The Yahoo! Comedy Channel continues to build our leadership position and show our commitment to premium video content.”

“I’m excited to be doing something new in bringing a live stand up show to a web giant like Yahoo!,” said Bill Maher. “It is my goal to make people say “Oh no he di’nt” in every medium on earth.”

In addition to Maher, the Yahoo! Comedy Channel is a collaborative effort between Yahoo! and top-tier production partners including Funny or Die, Broadway Video, Electus, David Morgasen and Principato-Young and more. Some of the shows in the comedy slate will include:

• CrazyStupidPolitics: Bill Maher Live from Silicon Valley – On February 23, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. PT Bill Maher will host a live comedy show exclusively broadcasted online on Yahoo!. This will be Maher’s first live online broadcast ever. For the last nineteen years, Maher has set the boundaries of where funny, political talk can go on American television.  First on “Politically Incorrect” on Comedy Central and ABC, and for the last nine years on HBO’s “Real Time,” Maher’s combination of unflinching honesty and big laughs have garnered him twenty-seven Emmy nominations.

• Funny Or Die Presents “First Dates with Toby Harris” (Funny or Die) – starring Seth Morris, a series that takes us on a journey of ill-fated first dates with the lovable (sometimes deplorable) and always single Toby Harris. Set with Los Angeles as a back drop, each episode centers around a different woman and issue that will leave the audience bickering amongst themselves who was right and who was wrong, and how they would have handled it better! Love him or hate him, a date with Toby is a date you will always remember.

• 7 Minutes in Heaven (Broadway Video) – Host Mike O’Brien (Saturday Night Live) invites celebrities into his closet for an intimate conversation.

• Sketchy (Principato Young/Electus) – Sketchy is a weekly video series featuring stand alone, topical comedy shorts written, directed and starring the biggest names in comedy. Created by Electus and Principato-Young Entertainment, whose roster includes Ed Helms, Justin Long, Anthony Anderson, Rob Corddry, Rob Riggle, Rachel Harris, Rob Huebel, Paul Scheer and many many others.

• HACKERAZZI (David Morgasen) – From David Morgasen, the director known for classic viral videos like the “David Blaine Street Magic” spoofs and “Obama-McCain Dance-off”, as well as his work on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” comes HACKERAZZI.  This series is basically a wikileaks of celebrity video, including hidden-camera footage of 2012 presidential candidates.  It’s the only place to see New Jersey Governor Chris Christie knocking over an 8 year-old boy at an airport Cinnabon and making off with his breakfast — or Justin Bieber bitch-slapping a sound guy while taping an anti-bullying PSA — or GOP hopeful Herman Cain’s never-before-seen audition to be “Harry Potter’s” Dumbledore.  Using a combination of live action and state-of-the-art digital effects, HACKERAZZI attaches celebrity heads to actors, making them look very close to the real thing.

Bill Maher’s live stand-up will be exclusively on Yahoo! on February 23, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. PT from San Jose, Calif. The remaining shows will be live in spring of 2012 and be hosted on Yahoo! Screen (http://screen.yahoo.com/), the company’s revamped premium video destination. Additionally, programs will be promoted editorially throughout the Yahoo! Network.

The Yahoo! Comedy Channel will also include licensed content from current sponsors and original programming such as Yahoo! Studios’ Odd News (http://news.yahoo.com/odd/), Yahoo! News’ weekly wrap up on the strangest stories from around the globe, hosted by comedian Greg Proops.

Additional original programs and live-stands will be added to the Yahoo! Comedy Channel throughout 2012.

Bill Maher, Comedian and Host of “Real Time” on HBO Will Perform Debut Concerts on the Hawaiian Islands New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day

Maher will perform at the Waikiki Shell in Honolulu December 31 and at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center January 1. Tickets go on-sale Saturday, October 22 at 10:00 A.M. HAST

(Sonoma County, CALIF)  – Rick Bartalini Presents announced today Bill Maher will perform two special New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day concerts in Hawaii. Maher will perform at the Waikiki Shell in Honolulu December 31 and at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center January 1. The concerts will be Maher’s first on the Islands. Tickets go on-sale Saturday, October 22 at 10:00 A.M. HAST

For the last seventeen years, Bill Maher has set the boundaries of where funny, political talk can go on American television.  First on “Politically Incorrect” (Comedy Central, ABC, 1993-2002), and for the last nine years on HBO’s “Real Time,” Maher’s combination of unflinching honesty and big laughs have garnered him twenty-seven Emmy nominations.  In October of 2008, this same combination was on display in Maher’s uproarious and unprecedented swipe at organized religion, “Religulous,” directed by Larry Charles (“Borat”). The documentary has gone on to become the 8^th Highest Grossing Documentary ever.

In addition to his television program – Maher has written four bestsellers: “True Story,” “Does Anybody Have a Problem with That?  Politically Incorrect’s Greatest Hits,” “When You Ride Alone, You Ride with Bin Laden” and most recently, “New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer.”  His next book, “The New New Rules: A funny Look at How Everybody But Me Has Their Head Up Their Ass,” comes out November 14.

Maher started his career as a stand-up comedian in 1979, and still performs at least fifty dates a year in Las Vegas and in sold out theaters all across the country.  Three of his nine stand-up specials for HBO – 2007’s “The Decider,” 2005’s “I’m Swiss,” as well as his most recent, the hilarious, “Bill Maher … But I’m Not Wrong,” – have been nominated for Emmy awards.

Tickets for Bill Maher December 31 at the Waikiki Shell are $29.50/$49.50/$59.50/$79.50. Tickets can be purchased at www.RBPconcerts.com, www.Ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster outlets, including Wal-Mart,  Ticketmaster charge-by-phone 800-745-3000 and the Blaisdell Box Office. Tickets go on-sale Saturday, October 22 at 10:00 A.M. HAST

Tickets for Maher’s performance January 1 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center are $35.50/$45.50/$65.50/$85.50. Tickets can be purchased at www.RBPconcerts.com, www.MauiArts.org, charge-by-phone 808-242-SHOW (7469) and the Maui Arts & Cultural Center Box Office. Tickets go on-sale Saturday, October 22 at 10:00 A.M. HAST

Journalists: For high-resolution artwork is available at: http://www.rbpconcerts.com/press/bill_maher.jpg

Bill Maher on-line: www.billmaher.com    http://www.facebook.com/Maher

Aidin Vaziri, Chronicle Pop Music Critic

Monday, September 19, 2011

“Stop!” Diana Ross raised her palm at the Golden Gate Theatre on Friday. The 67-year-old singer looked resplendent in a sparkling floor-length gown, red lipstick and an eruption of curls topping her smiling face – almost as if she had spent the past five decades preserved in amber. Less than a second passed, but it felt like an eternity.

Her 12-piece band stood at full attention. The stage lights illuminated the capacity crowd. Then Ross delivered the kicker, backed by a volunteer chorus of hundreds: “In the name of love!” She wailed. They wailed. “Before you break my heart!”

It was pop history in the flesh, with all the emotional heft that comes with it. Friday’s concert marked the first time Ross had performed in San Francisco proper since she appeared with the Supremes at the Fairmont Hotel’s Venetian Room in 1969, according to promoter Rick Bartalini.

That’s where Ross picked up, opening the 90-minute show with the high points of the trio’s Motown catalog delivered in quick succession. “Baby Love.” “You Can’t Hurry Love.” “Where Did Our Love Go?” That’s a whole lot of love.

You would think she would be sick of their ubiquity by now, but Ross and her 12-piece live band seemed genuinely thrilled to be playing each one for what had to be the 50,716th time.

Horns and synthetic strings cued a transition to the disco era, as Ross took the stage in earrings that looked like apartment chandeliers and a dazzling red dress with enough sequins to cover a small island in the South Pacific.

Her 1980 hit “I’m Coming Out” seemed to hold special resonance with the San Francisco audience, which could never quite figure out whether to sit or stand in a venue typically reserved for touring Broadway shows.

“Love Hangover,” released in 1976, sounded as sublime as ever, while “Ease on Down the Road,” from the Ross-helmed soundtrack to “The Wiz,” would have fared better left in the used record store bins.

Her foray into jazz and blues was unexpectedly delectable, as Ross’ wonderfully aged voice soared on lounge versions of “Fine and Mellow” and “Don’t Explain.” For the drag queens in the audience, it was like a master class in commanding the stage.

Just after “Theme From ‘Mahogany’ (Do You Know Where You’re Going To),” when it seemed like she had completely exhausted her cache of popular songs, Ross dropped an all-hands-on-deck version of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” Plus the fifth costume change of the night – a little gold number with holographs.

So it was a little disappointing that she closed out the set (and encore) with a wedding band cover of Gloria Gaynor’s signature anthem, “I Will Survive.”

Then again, the sentiment hit the mark. Ross’ enthusiasm and energy were remarkable, not just for her age, but any age. Now if we could just get her to visit more often.

Follow Aidin Vaziri at twitter.com/MusicSF. E-mail him at avaziri@sfchronicle.com.