A Hard Rock Park tour of music and memorabilia will hit six major U.S. cities to promote the opening of the Park’s “backstage” preview center this month.

Ground has been broken in Myrtle Beach, SC, on Hard Rock Park, the world’s first rock ‘n’ roll theme park, and a 6-city U.S. tour of music and memorabilia starts today to promote the opening of the Park’s preview center this month.

The 6-city promotional tour, dubbed The Hard Rock Park Road to Myrtle Beach Tour, will be a traveling exhibition headlined by The Beatles‘ famed Magical Mystery Tour Bus that will stop at Hard Rock Cafes to collect some of the rock memorabilia that will reside at the Park. Expected donations for the Park include a wall from the legendary NYC punk rock mecca CBGB‘s as well as Elvis Presley’s white-studded cape. These free events at the Cafes will also include live performances by the rock band Sister Hazel.

The Hard Rock Park Road to Myrtle Beach Tour Dates

— New York City, April 9
— Cleveland, April 10
— Pittsburgh, April 11
— Memphis, April 14
— Nashville, April 15
— Atlanta, April 17
— Myrtle Beach, April 18

The final stop on the tour will be in Myrtle Beach at the Hard Rock Park site on April 18 with a concert that evening featuring Sister Hazel and The Marshall Tucker Band to celebrate the official opening of the preview center, dubbed The Hard Rock Park Backstage Tour. The preview center will offer fans an interactive glimpse of the Park’s rides and attractions and is outfitted with various interactive displays as well as unique pieces of memorabilia that will be incorporated into the Park. The preview center, which opens at 8am on April 18, will be open through the end of 2007 at no cost to visitors.

Hard Rock Park is a venture by Hard Rock International, which owns 123 Hard Rock Cafes and eight casino/hotels in 46 countries, and is scheduled to fully open to the public in the Spring of 2008. The Park will feature six distinct “rock environs” celebrating rock’s culture, lifestyle, legends, and irreverence:

1. All Access Entry Plaza — A cluster of “people friendly” piazzas that provide vibrant shopping venues and public spaces designed in a blend of mission and warehouse styles.
2. Rock & Roll Heaven — An oasis of rock, explores the feelings and emotions “behind the music” – the influences, the legends and the vibrations that stir the soul.
3. British Invasion — Celebrates rock ‘n’ roll English style. The look and feel of London creates a backdrop to explore rock’s most influential artists and musical genres.
4. Lost in the 70’s — A large indoor mall where Britannia and America converge in the eclectic mix of Punk, Disco, and Glam that dominated the 70’s
5. Born in the USA — Salutes the birthplace and “melting pot” of rock: an American tapestry of exciting styles as diverse as the people that live from “sea to shining sea.”
6. Cool Country — Expresses a distinctively American form of music and its incredible lasting popularity, particularly in the South!

Plans for the approximately 140-acre theme park include more than 40 attractions aimed at people of all ages, including roller coasters, shows, children’s play areas, restaurants, cafes and retail stores, a multi-purpose live music amphitheatre, and ultra-modern sound system specifically developed for the project.

The Park’s coasters will be set to music, including Maximum RPM!, a convertible car-coaster that races to 80’s new age hits, and Midnight Rider, a Southern Rock roller coaster that careens through a creepy abandoned lumber mill. Children’s play areas abound, including Reggae River Falls, a whimsical Jamaican-themed water play area and Garage Jam! a foam ball play-station.

Restaurants will include Carnaby Street Cafe, a 60’s joint featuring gigantic lava lamps and traditional British fare. Live entertainment and shows are around every corner and the “crew” hasn’t been forgotten with the Roadies Stunt Show, a high-action comedy staring heavy metal riggers performing astounding acrobatics and pyrotechnics. A specially designed amphitheatre will accommodate touring acts, concerts, and special events.

The Park will also have areas where visitors can take a break from the action that combines quiet respites with tribute areas, play elements, and strolling paths. Guests can explore creative retail stores that are attractions unto themselves like Mainstreet Gas & Gifts, an old gas station converted to a surf shop where antique glass gas pumps becoming kid-powered whirlpools. All of the Park’s offerings are blanketed in an ultra-modern sound system specifically developed for the project and numerous “discoveries” and Hard Rock memorabilia.

Advance admission tickets to the Hard Rock Park can be purchased at the Hard Rock Park official site for $46 per person (all ages).