Ex-GUNS N' ROSES Drummer MATT SORUM To Serve As Celebrity Grand Marshal Of 'Palm Springs Festival Of Lights Parade'

Former GUNS N' ROSES and VELVET REVOLVER drummer Matt Sorum will serve as a celebrity grand marshal of the 32nd annual Palm Springs Festival Of Lights Parade on December 7. This glittering event will light up downtown Palm Springs at 5:45 p.m. sharp, so mark your calendars!

Joining Sorum in the spotlight are some seriously star-studded Community Grand Marshals: favorite local Dave Karger, the charming host of Turner Classic Movies and a Palm Springs International Film Festival fixture, the fabulous Kelly Golightly, an internationally adored Palm Springs style icon, and the dynamic duo from the Coachella Valley Firebirds: Gino LaMont (former NBC Palm Springs broadcaster) and NHL legend Grant Fuhr (the one and only former Edmonton Oilers all-star!). Plus, local actress Mädchen Amick, best known for her role in "Riverdale", will serve as Honorary Grand Marshal.

But that's not all! This is the parade you don't want to miss. Picture dazzling floats twinkling with holiday magic, marching bands that'll have your feet tapping, giant inflatable holiday balloons, and of course, a very special visit from Santa Claus himself! With the award-winning journalist Hank Plante at the mic as the parade's official emcee, this iconic event is sure to light up your holiday season.

Special performances include:

* The Tap-Dancing Christmas Trees, (all the way from Oakland!)
* The Changels Choir from Adopt the Arts
* Coachella Valley High School EXLP Dancers
* Cathedral City High School Ballet Folklorico

And for those who can't make it in person, you can catch all the action live on NBC Palm Springs starting at 6 p.m.

The fun kicks off the night before, on Friday, December 6, when Kelly, Gino and Grant join mayor Jeffrey Bernstein, City Councilmembers, and Santa Claus himself to light up the City's stunning 22-foot Holiday Tree at 5:15 p.m. in Frances Stevens Park. The evening includes a meet-and-greet with Santa, free cookies and cocoa, plus arts and crafts for the little ones. Plus, the Holiday Student Banner Awards ceremony at 4 p.m. will get everyone in the festive spirit.

"Palm Springs is the perfect place to celebrate the magic of the holidays, and we can't wait to welcome the amazing Grand Marshals Dave Karger, Matt Sorum, Kelly Golightly, Gino LaMont and Grant Fuhr to Palm Canyon Drive," mayor Jeffrey Bernstein said in a statement. "It's a celebration that's truly like no place else and we invite everyone from the Coachella Valley to join us for the fun!"

Sorum said: "I'm proud and honored to announce I've been chosen to be the Celebrity Grand Marshal of The Palm Springs 'Festival Of Lights' Christmas Parade. December 7th. I'll be in tow with our amazing honor choir The Changels of 70 kids singing their way down Palm Canyon Blvd to our co-founder Jane Lynch's song 'We're Going Caroling'. I have experience in the parade world from my days in school band pictured [below] with Mission Viejo High School Marching Band."

The Palm Springs Festival Of Lights Parade kicked off in the early 1990s along Palm Canyon Drive and has been held every year since on the first Saturday in December — becoming a much-loved holiday tradition in downtown Palm Springs. The parade was the brainchild of former mayor Will Kleindienst and a small group of community minded individuals who believed it important to offer the Coachella Valley an event that would allow residents and visitors to celebrate the spirit and joy of the holiday season while at the same time creating a unique tourism event, which over the years has brought in an estimated 100,000 people annually to the downtown. Over the past 29 years, the parade has featured a host of marching bands, performing groups as well as the Budweiser Clydesdales, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Snoopy and the Gang — and, of course, Santa and Mrs. Claus!

Yet more than anything else, it is the parade’s signature floats adorned in thousands of colorful holiday lights and huge Macy’s-style balloons that keeps the crowds coming back for more. Consistently voted one of the best local events in the Coachella Valley, the parade was also voted one of the Top Ten Holiday Parades in the country in an AOL survey.

Sorum, who replaced Steven Adler in GUNS N' ROSES, recorded the highly successful albums "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II" (both 1991) and "The Spaghetti Incident" (1994). He also supported the group on the "Use Your Illusion" tour and can be heard on GUNS N' ROSES' "Live Era: '87-'93" (1999) and "Greatest Hits" (2004).

Sorum was among the GUNS N' ROSES members who were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in April 2012. He, Adler, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan attended the ceremony, while singer Axl Rose and founding guitarist Izzy Stradlin stayed home.

The musician, who has also played with THE CULT, VELVET REVOLVER and HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES, is not involved with GN'R's hugely successful reunion tour, which features Rose, Slash and McKagan alongside drummer Frank Ferrer, keyboardist Dizzy Reed, guitarist Richard Fortus and second keyboardist Melissa Reese.

Sorum's autobiography, "Double Talkin' Jive: True Rock 'N' Roll Stories From The Drummer Of Guns N' Roses, The Cult, And Velvet Revolver", arrived in May 2022 via Rare Bird Books.

Photo credit: Michael Segal