How to go
Who: Lynyrd Skynyrd with Drake White and the Big Fire
Where: Fraze Pavilion, 695 Lincoln Park Blvd., Kettering
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Cost: $46 lawn & terrace (in advance), $51 lawn & terrace (day of show), $61 side orchestra (sections A&D)
More info: 937-296-3300 or www.fraze.com
Artist info: www.lynyrdskynyrd.com
How to go
Who: Molly Hatchet
Where: BMI Speedway, 791 E. Main St., Versailles
When: 7 p.m. Saturday. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Cost: $20 in advance, $25 at the door
More info: 937-526-9547 or www.blog.bmikarts.com/blog
Artist info: www.mollyhatchet.com
It’s been more than 40 years since the heyday of Southern rock, but you wouldn’t know it from the number of acts on tour this summer. Two bands — Lynyrd Skynyrd and Molly Hatchet — will both be performing in the area on Saturday.
Skynyrd is performing at Fraze Pavilion in Kettering at 7:30 that evening, while Hatchet will play at BMI Speedway in Versailles at 7 p.m. So, what’s the attraction to this Southern-fried mix of country, rock and blues?
“Southern rock is pretty much timeless,” Molly Hatchet leader Bobby Ingram said. “Little did we know way back then that the music would live on like this, but people like it because its songs about friendship, truth and honesty. It’s songs about people’s triumphs, they’re good times and partying, and they’re also about the hardships people have endured.”
Lynyrd Skynyrd
The members of Lynyrd Skynyrd had performed together for years before adopting the now legendary moniker in Jacksonville, Fla., in the early 1970s. The band wore its Southern heritage with pride, which was reflected in the lyrics and music of hits such as “Free Bird” and “Sweet Home Alabama.”
Just days after releasing its sixth album in October 1977, Lynyrd Skynyrd was involved in a plane crash that killed lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines. The group folded after the tragedy and seemed to be done for good.
Surviving members pursued other projects for a decade before reviving Skynyrd with Van Zant’s younger brother Johnny taking over vocal duties. Nearly three decades later the band is still going strong, recording new music and performing internationally for rabid fans of all ages.
Molly Hatchet
Like the members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet is a product of the sunny state of Florida. The band’s debut was released in 1978, less than a year after the Skynyrd plane crash. Hatchet’s three-guitar attack and Danny Joe Brown’s gritty vocals made the band a natural successor to Skynyrd and audiences agreed. The self-titled debut and the 1979 follow-up “Flirtin’ With Disaster” were both certified platinum.
Molly Hatchet continued to record and tour, but personnel changes, substance abuse problems and a changing musical climate kept the band off the charts. However, fans continued to flock to see the group perform fan favorites like “Bounty Hunter” and “Whiskey Man.”
“Molly Hatchet has been blessed to have a loyal fan base that has been dedicated to the group since the late ’70s,” Ingram said. “Through all the changes, through all the years, they still come back to Molly Hatchet. We’re also developing a new fan base in the younger generation that’s discovering classic rock. To see everyone out there singing the Hatchet stuff means a lot to us.”
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