The dirty is still nitty, it's still gritty, and they are still a world class band.
The legendary Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is coming back to Prince George on Nov. 9 for a show at CN Centre, along with guest artists Nice Horse.
They are one of country music's steadfast acts, with a bluegrass foundation and a rock 'n' roll frame.
The band was founded 52 years ago on a wave of informal jams and jug-band bashes (a young Jackson Browne was a frequent player in these sessions) that eventually became a formal set of players.
Nitty Gritty became monster-sized in popular culture thanks to their enduring crossover smash Fishin' In The Dark. That tune reinvented the singalong song and was part of the reason for country music's comeback as a genre when it came out in 1987. Fun fact: it never cracked the Billboard Hot 100 yet it was certified platinum as of 2014. That can only happen if people buy the song in large numbers year after year, regardless of when it was released.
It was 1967 when they had their first hit, the tune Buy For Me The Rain, which got them a performance slot on the Johnny Carson Show. They were already a hit machine before they went Fishin' and they have had more since then.
Some of their best known songs include Will The Circle Be Unbroken (despite this never being a single), Make A Little Magic, Dance Little Jean, Baby's Got A Hold On Me, Cadillac Ranch, House At Pooh Corner, Mr. Bojangles and lists more.
It would also be too numerous a roster to itemize all the star collaborators who have worked with them. The all-star duets on the three Will The Circle Be Unbroken albums are more than many bands achieve in a whole career (from Roy Acuff to John Hiatt, Doc Watson to Bruce Hornsby, John Prine to John Denver, Johnny Cash with daughter Roseanne to Randy Scruggs with father Earl, Mother Maybelle Carter to daughter June Carter Cash, Tom Petty to Taj Mahal)
They are equally comfortable writing their own material, rendering other writers' compositions, and re-imagining old classics. It has led to multiple Grammy Awards, piles of other industry trophies, and some of the more interesting ways to be cited by culture.
For example, their 1972 groundbreaking Will The Circle Be Unbroken (first edition) album has been inducted into the U.S. Library of Congress as well as the Grammy Hall of Fame. Their version of Mr. Bojangles (it was originally written by Jerry Jeff Walker) was inducted in 2010 into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
The band has survived through catalogues of lineup alterations over the decades, but the three who've been under the Nitty Gritty banner the longest are still there today. Those are founding members Jeff Hanna and Jimmie Fadden plus Bob Carpenter. They are joined on this tour by Jim Photoglo (he had his own hits in the 1980s and wrote songs for the stars), Ross Holmes (co-founder of band Cadillac Sky, one-time member of Mumford & Sons, etc.), and Jaime Hanna (half of the duo Hanna-McEuen with fellow Nitty Gritty musical offspring Jonathan McEuen).
This configuration has recently performed at high profile events like Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Stagecoach, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival and many more.
Their recent sold out concert filmed and recorded live for the 50th Anniversary at The Historic Ryman Auditorium is an Emmy Award winning PBS Pledge Special.
The opening act on this tour is Calgary country band Nice Horse. Like their headline tourmates, Nice Horse is comprised of a number of songwriters who all contribute to the group's material. They've toured with Tom Cochrane, opened for The Kentuky Headhunters, they are nominees for this fall's CCMA Awards, and their current radio romp is the popular track Pony Up.
Tickets to see Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Nice Horse together will go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. at the TicketsNorth website or their box office at CN Centre.
