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Christopher Cross in Riverside

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Christopher Cross
Long Beach Amphitheater — Long Beach, CA
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About Christopher Cross

Christopher Cross emerged in the late 1970s as the unlikely face of yacht rock, a genre that would define him completely. His 1979 debut album was a commercial juggernaut, anchored by the breezy sail-away fantasy of "Sailing," which became inescapable on AM radio and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. That same album also spawned "Ride Like the Wind" and "Arthur's Theme," proving Cross had a genuine gift for melodic pop songwriting that felt effortless and expensive. His follow-up, "Another Page," maintained the soft-focus aesthetic but couldn't sustain the momentum. By the 1980s, yacht rock had become something to apologize for, and Cross's earnest, perfectly produced sound fell out of favor. He's spent decades existing in a strange cultural space—genuinely talented but permanently associated with a sound that became shorthand for excess and poor taste. His songs endure mostly as nostalgia and irony, though "Sailing" remains legitimately lovely.

Cross plays nostalgia crowds who know every word to "Sailing." The energy is polite, occasionally wistful. He's a competent performer without particular charisma, steady and professional. Audiences are older, here for the songs themselves rather than the man.

Known for Sailing, Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do), Ride Like the Wind, All Right, Think It Over

Christopher Cross in Riverside News

Riverside road trip to see Christopher Cross?

Stay in the Magnolia Center area near downtown Riverside, where restored historic buildings sit alongside new boutique hotels and wine bars—it's the only neighborhood that actually feels like somewhere worth spending an evening. Before the show, dinner at Duane's, a reliable California steakhouse with real cocktails and actual craft to the food. Spend your afternoon at the Riverside Metropolitan Museum or walking through the Mission Inn's sprawling Mission Revival campus—it's genuinely stunning architecture, the kind of thing that reminds you why people actually settled this part of California.

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