We’ll Meet Again: Frankie Avalon Shines in Greensburg Return

By Dave Parsons

From the moment you step into Greensburg’s historic Palace Theater, with its deep red velvet drapes, art deco plasterwork, and that familiar scent of stale popcorn and romance, you sense the ghosts of a thousand opening acts. Teenage idols of every genre have romanced young hearts, bands played for the masses, and comedians have made them laugh for decades. On June 29, 2025, the place was ready to feel that magic again. This time with a legend who never really left.

Frankie Avalon, at 84, emerged not as a relic, but like family. Dressed in a dark suit, white dress shirt, and a wide smile, he exuded that blend of refined showmanship that made Venus and Beauty School Dropout lovingly endure across eras. Avalon didn’t merely perform a set, but invited us to a lifetime shared in song.

Avalon’s performance leaned into nostalgia, but it didn’t stay there. He revisited every era of his career from early Broadway-laced classics like Where or When, movie music like Beach Blanket Bingo and California Sun, and teen-idol heartbreak anthems like Venus and Why.

But it was the live medley that stole the room: a roaring, resonant mash-up of Great Balls of Fire, Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On, Let’s Go to the Hop, and Rock and Roll is Here to Stay. The Palace seemed to be caught off guard a bit.  A 4-piece band and an 8-piece orchestra can produce some sound, and Avalon led the charge, reminding us all that legends age, but they never diminish.

Perhaps the most electric musical moment of the night came when Avalon introduced the men who carried more to the stage than just chords and percussion. His son, Frankie Avalon Jr., took to the drum kit with a steady confidence that came from backstage lessons and shared legacy. Then there was Edan Everly, son of Don Everly, who slipped seamlessly into iconic Everly Brothers riffs, his guitar work a bridge from past to present. Witnessing father, son, and a second-generation rock legend carrying the songs, you felt history was living, breathing, and evolving right in front of you.

When the pair joined Avalon during Bye Bye Love and again on All I Have to Do Is Dream, the audience was thrilled. This wasn’t a gimmick, either. Edan’s guitar licks honored his father’s legacy while elevating Avalon’s version into something communal and emotional. Across the rows, you saw teary eyes, phones capturing every note, and waves of applause that felt more like pulsing life force than polite fanfare.

What set Frank Thomas Avalon apart wasn’t just the catalog, either. He has a gentle charm, sly humor, and quiet candor on stage. From quick one-liners to showing home movies and photos of his family, you leave feeling like you really knew them, and they were somehow now part of your family.

That kind of humanity made youthful tunes feel like warm family stories. As Dede Dinah drifted in waltz rhythm and Beauty School Dropout triggered nostalgic applause, the audience didn’t feel like baby boomers reliving youth. They felt like vaulting with Avalon into a timeless moment that belonged to all generations.

Look around the packed theater, there were grandparents in wheelchairs humming along, teenagers cheering, couples reacquainting with innocence, eight-year-olds on shoulders. The applause between songs wasn’t polite; it was personal. Each number felt like part of a collective memory being built in real time.

When Avalon encored with Old Time Rock and Roll and dove into the epitome of closers in We’ll Meet Again, it reminded you all that used to be good on a Sunday afternoon, and could be again.  When he segued into the Mickey Mouse Club theme (M-I-C   K-E-Y), there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. It was a lullaby to the past, sung by someone who earned the right to whisper it.   

I was fortunate enough to be with a group that got to meet the man after the show.  He was just as charming after the show, shaking your hand, looking you in the eye, and a bit of small talk. And still it was less than one minute a person, and then onto the next person in line.  On the way out, I spotted an usher.  He was white-haired, steady, and polite.  He looked at the stage, and told me he worked a show that Frankie Avalon did 40 years ago. He hasn’t lost a thing…..that is so good to see.

That moment said it all: A legend returned not to relive glory, but to remind us why we loved him in the first place.

Frankie Avalon didn’t just sing in Greensburg.  He graced the stage like a living testament that heroes don’t vanish when their chart climbs fade.  They endure in the lives they’ve touched, the songs still hummed in bathrooms and road trips, and the legacy carried forward by those who came after them.

In a world obsessed with youth and novelty, Avalon offered a hint for the music acts of today’s popularity.  The magic of a career is sustained by sincerity. You show up, year after year, not just to perform, but to connect. Frankie Avalon wasn’t there to prove anything, because he didn’t have to. His legacy is sealed in vinyl grooves and black-and-white television memories, but more so in the warm-hearted handshake he still offers and the sparkle in his eye when he sees three generations singing Venus together.

In Greensburg, he gave more than a concert. He gave us a masterclass in grace. He showed the rising stars that it’s not the lights or the charts that make you timeless—it’s kindness, consistency, and the courage to still care when the crowd’s gone home.

The lights dimmed. The curtain fell. But the feeling lingered. For every fan who walked out into the muggy Pennsylvania afternoon, humming a tune that was the soundtrack of their first kiss or high school dance, Avalon had done what only the greats can do—he reminded us not only of who he was, but who we were.

And for that, Mr. Avalon, we’ll meet again.

Setlist Frankie Avalon, Greensburg, PA  June 29, 2025

Where or When
Yakety Yak / Charlie Brown / Witch Doctor
Put The Fun Back In Rock and Roll
Beach Blanket Bingo
California Sun
Beauty School Dropout
DeDe Dinah / Gingerbread
Bye Bye Love (with Edan Everly)
All I Have to Do Is Dream (with Edan Everly)
Wake Up, Little Susie (with Edan Everly)
Bobby Sox to Stockings
Why
Venus
Hawaii 5‑0 / Great Balls Of Fire / Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On / Let’s Dance / Good Golly Miss Molly / Runaround Sue / Hound Dog / Let’s Go to the Hop / Rock and Roll is Here To Stay
Rock and Roll Heaven / Hello Mary Lou / Jailhouse Rock / Blue Suede Shoes / Mack the Knife / Rock Around the Clock / Rock and Roll Heaven (Reprise)
Encore: Old Time Rock and Roll
Encore: We’ll Meet Again / Mickey