Retro Rewind 2014 – Hot Cars, Hot Music, Hot Times!

Posted by Jim Volgarino on Jan 14, 2014 in Shows & Events, Vintage Rides | 0 comments

Hot Rods, Cold Weather… Now We’re Talkin’!

John Wells definitely lives a life of danger. Putting together a first-time indoor hot rod show in the midst of a Midwest winter is bordering on madness, but watching Wells work, you know there’s just a bit of madness lurking in that fast moving director of organized mayhem.

Retro Rewind 2014 is now in the history books, an event only Wells could conceive, plan and implement as a sibling event to his already successful TorqueFest and Iron Invasion gatherings. Retro Rewind brought together an amazing collection of traditional hot rods, custom cars, vintage bikes and go karts, classic guitars, pinstripers, pinups, hot rod films, high jammin’ rock and roll, food, art… hey, you could even get yourself a super cool haircut by a real barber! Wells thought of everything and the packed event center in Dubuque, Iowa was diggin’ it.

Of course it was the cars that headlined the event and there was enough diversity that anyone with a pulse of any kind could appreciate the mix of good old school, flat out cool hot rods and custom cars. John D’Agostino’s original Royal Tahitian, which was built by Bill Reasoner and is now owned by Bob Cattelino, joined Voodoo Larry’s Voodoo Keeper out of Chicago to give the crowd some incredibly detailed custom metal and flash right next to some great patina’d rides that everyone wanted to hop in and scoot around the block.

There was plenty to see and the crowd grew from the early morning opening throughout the day, listening to some rockin-music pulled together by Wells’ music director, Pat Jones, and filing into a nearby classic movie theater (opera boxes and everything!) to watch a day long selection of hot rod and vintage bike movies.

Vendors of all shapes and sizes also lined the aisles giving spectators a taste of 40s/50s fashion, home furnishings, classic movie posters and great hot rod art. If you were bored, you simply weren’t paying attention! The pinstriping demonstrations were amazing, there was plenty of laid back conversation and it all proved to be a great break from the cold weather that had surrounded the local area for the past several weeks.

Wells plans to bring the event back again in 2015 and now is busily organizing TorqueFest 2014 which will also be held in Dubuque, Iowa, May 2-4.

See below for a more extensive gallery of images from retro Rewind 2014 and plan to be in Dubuque, Iowa next year when John Wells stages another great indoor show!