PRESS RELEASE: Swedish Rockers & Super Fans of Macon Music Join the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™Largest Kazoo Ensemble Attempt on March 28, 2025

MACON, Ga (March 12, 2025) – The Diamond Dogs will join the stage at the Atrium Health Amphitheatre on Friday, March 28, 2025, as part of the International Cherry Blossom Festival and Macon’s campaign to break a world record with the help of all attendees! All musical acts, guest appearances, and a comedy set by Emmy award-winning comedian and writer, Ian Karmel, will all be included in the already announced ticket price of only $5! Purchase your tickets today at visitmacon.com/kazoo.

“It is the International Cherry Blossom Festival after all, so when we heard about the new record titled “Macon Georgia Giant” from across the pond, in the spirit of International friendship, we invited them to come - and they accepted!” says Trish Whitley, Director of Destination Development with Visit Macon. “They will perform their own ‘Architect of Rock & Roll’ inspired pieces, but they also get to visit the hometown of this music giant and are thrilled to see all of the American music legacy locations that Macon has to offer! Plus, the band includes a member known all over the UK as “The Duke of Honk!” Folks call him Honk for short. Honk and this Kazoo attempt are a match made in heaven!”

The Diamond Dogs are a Swedish rock group formed in 1991 in Katrineholm, Södermanland, by Sulo Karlsson, Anders Boba Lindström, and The Duke of Honk. Influenced by British early 1970s R&B.

After making highly acclaimed demo tapes with star producer Max Martin, the members moved to Stockholm upon finding fame in 1992 and the debut albumHonked was recorded in Sunlight Studio with producer Tomas Skogsberg. The first single "Blue Eyes Shouldn’t Be Cryin’” launched in 1993 made its way to a rotation on MTV’s classic hard rock show Headbangers Ball.

Through constant touring, Diamond Dogs soon built a large reputation for their energetic live shows, with the charismatic and dynamic stage antics of singer Sören ”Sulo” Karlsson, as well as its innovative use of the piano as a lead rock instrument, Henrik ”The Duke of Honk” Widen is a pioneer in sound and style for gritty rock’n’roll keys. Sulo is the main songwriter, and Honk serves as the group’s principal producer.

Keeping busy the better part of the 1990s playing live shows, Diamond Dogs took a break in 1997 and Anders ”Boba” Lindström became a full member of The Hellacopters. Two years later DD was contracted on a new label with worldwide distribution in 1999. They cut a five track record in 24 hours and named it "Among the non-believers”, released in early 2000. It became the restart of a successful journey that eventually took Diamond Dogs to worldwide cult status.

The Duke of Honk is also associated with Swedish female pop stars Meja and Louise Hoffsten, The Solution, Rednex, Conny Bloom (Electric Boys), The Nomads, Lisa and The Lips (The Bellrays), Swedish folk hero Kjell Höglund, US soul singer Gabriel Kelley, and countless productions with various artists.

Diamond Dogs have over the years created a reputation as one of the best rock ‘n’ roll live acts there is, and their shows often stretched out to over 3 hours. Although based in Sweden, the band had always considered Spain its second home because of its big popularity and frequent touring there.

In 2025, thirty-four years after birth, Diamond Dogs released their 16th full-length record ”Macon Georgia Giant” on February 14th. A collaboration with UK guitar legend Chris Spedding, and contains 11 songs in the true spirit of Little Richard.

Join thousands of visitors & Maconites during the annual International Cherry Blossom Festiva​l to attempt the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the Largest Kazoo Ensemble. We encourage everyone to purchase your tickets as early as possible to help keep count toward reaching the required attendance.

DATE: Friday, March 28, 2025

TIME: Gates open at 4 pm; Performances start at 4:30 pm;
Official Attempt at 6 pm; Additional Performances to follow

WHERE: Atrium Health Amphitheater, 3657 Eisenhower Pkwy, Macon, GA

Admission is only $5 and can be purchased HERE or at the Macon Centreplex Box Office
Children 6 & Under are FREE.
All proceeds will go to the Otis Redding Foundation & Otis Redding Center for the Arts

SPONSORED BY: Visit Macon, Cherry Blossom Festival, Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce, Choose Macon, Otis Redding Foundation, and many more Macon Community Organizations!

Kazoo expert Rick Hubbard​ will facilitate the attempt to bring the World Record back to America- and specifically ​home to Macon, Georgia​. Visit Macon will provide kazoos to everyone participating/in attendance, and a keepsake upon exiting so that attendees can prove they were part of this world record attempt experience!

“We are so excited to welcome Ian Karmel to the Atrium Health Amphitheatre as an added incentive to draw people into this event! Along with the appearance by ‘The Kazoo Kid’ and Rick Hubbard of Kazoobie Kazoos leading the five-minute medley of kazoo playing are just the beginning of the line-up of activities we hope will entice an audience of all ages to join us!” explains Gary Wheat, President & CEO of Visit Macon. “Bring your family, friends, colleagues, interest groups, social clubs… whomever you can! Let’s break the record! Bringing this title back from London, England is all about making some good noise and drawing attention to what Macon, Georgia has to offer visitors!

The current Guinness World Record for the “Largest Kazoo Ensemble” of 5,190 participants has been held in London, England since 2011.

Why the Kazoo? Legend has it that freed slave Alabama Vest created the musical instrument we know and love as the kazoo in Macon, Georgia in the 1840s. Inspired by the African horn-mirliton or onion flute, Vest brought his original prototype- made from a simple wooden tube with a piece of paper attached to it- to local clockmaker Thaddeus Von Clegg. Together they produced a design that they officially debuted at the Georgia State Fair in Macon in 1852, calling it a "Down South Submarine." Be sure to visit the pop-up exhibit at the Tubman African American Museum during the month of March to learn more!

For more information, visit visitmacon.org/kazoo and/or please contact Visit Macon’s Director of Marketing, Marisa Rodgers, at (478) 743-1074 x106 or emailmrodgers@visitmacon.org.

About Visit Macon: Visit Macon is a non-profit 501(c)6 whose mission is to unify and lead our community in marketing the Macon-Bibb County area as a superior visitor and meeting destination. Visit Macon promotes Macon, Georgia to travel writers, meeting planners, group tour operators, and leisure travelers in an effort to bring people and revenues into the community and area businesses.visitmacon.org