The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band will perform Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Fishin’ in the Dark and other feel-good, country-rock hits in Red Deer on Friday, Aug. 19.
The band that was founded in Long Beach, Calif., is 45 years old and still going strong. Since forming in 1966, the group has weathered many changes of musicians and even name (it was just the Dirt Band for from 1976 to 1981).
What has stayed the same is the ability to turn out songs that have touched fans and influenced other musicians throughout the decades.
The Grammy Award winning band is also known for the tunes Modern Day Romance, Mr. Bojangles, An American Dream, Make a Little Magic, All I Have to Do is Dream, Grand Ole Opry Song, Jambalaya, Battle of New Orleans, I Saw the Light, Fire in the Sky and many others.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, which plays at The Capri Centre, has also performed at Carnegie Hall in New York, at the Los Angles Olympic Games, the original Farm Aid concert in Illinois, on Saturday Night Live and at the record-setting Ozark Music Festival in 1974 (it boasted estimated crowds of 350,000 people).
The group has toured the world, including Europe, Japan and the former Soviet Union, and collaborated with such artists as Earl Scruggs, Johnny Cash and the Carter Family, Roy Acuff, Doc Watson, Merle Travis, Emmylou Harris, Ricky Skaggs, John Prine, Levon Helm, John Denver, John Hiatt, Bruce Hornsby and Linda Ronstadt.
All along, its music has swung back and forth between folk, rock and country influences — although the musicians contend that their sound hasn’t really changed that much. Only the names for categorizing it have changed — the group’s music started out being called pop, then country and now Americana.
The 2009 album, Speed of Life, featuring 11 new tracks and two covers, purposely avoided overproduction to demonstrate collaborative spirit and spontaneity.
The latest lineup of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band musicians includes original members Jeff Hanna on guitar and vocals, Jimmy Fadden on drums, harmonica and vocals, and John McEuen on banjo, mandolin and fiddle. The band also has Bob Carpenter, who joined in 1977, on keyboards, accordion and vocals.
Tickets to the 8 p.m. concert are $68.50 from Ticketmaster. To reserve VIP tables, call the West Yellowhead Music Society at 1-888-723-90778.