Steven Tyler is the lead singer of Aerosmith. The band started in the early 1970s in Boston and had several hits including Walk This Way, Last Child, Back in the Saddle, Home Tonight, Draw the Line, and Chip Away the Stone. By the late 1970s, the band was destroying itself through the use of hard drugs. Eventually all the members went to rehab.
Cleaner and revitalised, Aerosmith received a big boost when Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry appeared on Run DMC’s cover of Walk This Way (1986). The band hasn’t looked back. Fast forward to May 2015 when Aerosmith was on tour in Vilnius, Lithuania. Tyler was strolling around, walking this way and that, when he chanced upon two buskers playing Crazy:
The lithe buskers are the violinist and accordionist from Vera Primavera, a Lithuanian band that plays popular songs on classical instruments. Tyler was casually dressed, in sunglasses with his hair tied back, but he did have his signature scarf draped around his neck. Tyler watched the young women, then stepped forward. After drawing the lasses closer together for better photo ops, Steven Tyler sang parts of the song and improvised others. He kissed the women on the cheeks and complimented them
Sinan Odes quips on YouTube: “I can’t even speak 15 days if I sing in his pitch. This guy has been singing like this for decades. What’s amazing is he still hits the notes every time. True legend.” What a great experience for 2 Lithuanian buskers on a windy day in Vilnius. But the story doesn’t end there. When Steven Tyler posted the clip of his interaction with the buskers on YouTube he wrote: “I knew we wrote that song for a reason. DRAGGIN THEM ON STAGE FOR SURE!”. Tyler was true to his word.
That worked a treat. What a nice touch to include local performers in Aerosmith’s concert at the Sieman’s Arena in Vilnius. No doubt about it, the girls held their own in the large venue packed with Aerosmith fans. Šauniai padirbėta (well done) Vera Primavera.
In May 2023, Aerosmith announced their farewell “Peace Out” tour. The band will perform from across the US from September 2023 through January 2024.
If you would like to see more from Vera Primavera, you can subscribe to their YouTube channel or follow them on Facebook or Instagram. You can also visit their official website for more information.