Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Beach Boys to headline outdoor casino concerts

Aug 10, 2023

Reporter/Editor

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band will present a high-energy show with a mix of their jug-band, gospel, folk, county and rock this Friday at the Seneca Allegany outdoor stage. Shown are band members (from left) Ross Holmes, Jimmie Fadden, Jeff Hanna, Bob Carpenter, Jaime Hanna, Jim Photoglo.

SALAMANCA — This is going to be one fabulous weekend at the Seneca Allegany Casino as The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and The Beach Boys take the stage Friday and Saturday nights.

The three-time Grammy winning Nitty Gritty Dirt Band will present a high-energy show with a mix of their jug-band, gospel, folk, country and rock Friday at 7 p.m., with special guests A Thousand Horses.

Celebrating a rich history of nearly six decades with hits like “Mr. Bojangles,” “Make A Little Magic” and one of the Dirt Band’s biggest hits, “Fishin’ in the Dark,” the Dirt Band’s members include Jeff Hanna, Jimmie Fadden, Bob Carpenter, Jaime Hanna, Ross Holmes and Jim Photoglo.

In a recent interview with The Press, Bob Carpenter, longtime member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, said the band was started in California in 1966 by Hanna and high school pal Bruce Kunkel.

Between their Long Beach high school days and the release of “Dirt Does Dylan,” the Dirt Band has brought folk music to the national forefront with “Mr. Bojangles” and the multi-artist “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” series of albums.

Carpenter, who grew up in Philadelphia, said Photoglo and Fadden are California natives. Jamie was born in Colorado and Ross is Texas-born.

“We spend a whole lot of time in Colorado and lived there all through the 70s. We consider ourselves a Colorado band, believe it or not,” he said. “We are proud members of the Colorado Music Hall of Fame since 2015.”

Carpenter attributes the band’s longevity to very good health allowing them to play and sing, along with a huge fan-base.

“We’ve had hits in six different decades. Our fans have taught their kids our songs. As long as we are touring, our music is alive,” he said.

Carpenter said Friday night’s crowd is going to experience songs spanning six decades, starting with the Dirt Band’s first single in 1967. They’ll perform some of their big hits and a few songs from their newest album, “Dirt Does Dylan.”

“We try to touch on all the different time periods and hopefully play a bunch of songs people come to hear,” he said. “We like to hear people say the songs took them down memory lane.”

The Beach Boys bring “Fun, Fun, Fun” to the casino’s outdoor stage Saturday night. Shown is the band’s co-founder Mike Love.

THERE WILL be “Fun, Fun, Fun” Saturday night when The Beach Boys take the outdoor stage at 7 o’clock.

The surf-rock legends known for hits like “Surfin’ USA” and “Kokomo,” have continued to ride the crest of a successful wave for more than six decades. The Beach Boys, who have become synonymous with the California lifestyle and an American icon to fans around the world, has become a permanent part of American history.

Mike Love, the only original living member who still tours with The Beach Boys, will be joined by Bruce Johnston, Brian Eichenberger, Christian Love (Mike’s son), Tim Bonhomme, Keith Hubacher, Randy Leago, Jon Bolton and John Wedemeyer.

The Southern California band was co-founded in 1961 by three teenage brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, along with their cousin Mike Love and school friend Al Jardine.

The group created what became known as “the California sound,” creating several of the most performed songs in pop music history including “Good Vibrations,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” “I Get Around,” “Surfin’ Safari,” “Help Me Rhonda,” “Do It Again,” “Kokomo” and “California Girls.”

Love said it’s been a 62-year odyssey starting in the fall of 1961 when he wrote the lyrics and melody to The Beach Boys’ first song, “Surfin’,” along with Brian Wilson. Following the song’s debut, the cousins went on to co-author numerous tracks, which included 11 Top 10 singles in the first five years of the band.

Their subject matter was completely unique from the beginning. Love said they took what was going on in southern California at that time, and it was all about surfers.

“The beach was only a couple of miles from our home, so that was a big part of our subject matter. We weren’t good surfers but we lived that lifestyle,” he said. “In addition to surfing itself, there’s a whole beach lifestyle in the way of dress, a way of talking and attitude. We sang about it and it caught on all over the country and the world.”

The 82-year old Love grew up in Los Angeles and currently resides in the Lake Tahoe area. He never imagined The Beach Boys would still be performing all these years later.

Love said music was a family tradition in the Wilson household. He remembers Brian sitting on his Grandmother Wilson’s lap and singing “Danny Boy,” which he sang so beautifully. A year or two after that, they started singing Everly Brothers’ songs together, so, he said, The Beach Boys music actually started several years before they came together and created their first record.

“It’s a lifetime hobby that turned into a profession because of the song my cousin Brian and I created,” he said.

Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, the band members are also recipients of The Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement GRAMMY Award. With more than six decades of touring, The Beach Boys have performed more concerts than any major rock band in history.

Love thinks the audience is going to come away from the concert with the feeling of lots of memories and happier times. He said it’ll be an uplifting experience with happiness, positivity, joy and nostalgia.

“I like to start back in the beginning with certain songs that are retro and upfront. They have a lot of energy that gets people up and moving. The songs are uptempo and fun,” he said.

Special guests A Thousand Horses will rock the casino’s outdoor stage with their Southern rock-style Friday night.

ALSO ON Friday, A Thousand Horses will take the outdoor stage with their Southern rock-style Friday night.

The audience can expect a blend of hard-hitting classic rock, modern country and highway-ready Americana — falling somewhere between the Black Crowes, Florida Georgia Line, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. The four-piece band includes Michael Hobby, Bill Satcher, Zach Brown and Graham DeLoach.

Longtime friends Hobby and Satcher began writing songs and making music together in Newberry, South Carolina at age 15. Satcher’s cousin, Graham DeLoach, joined the duo soon after. In 2010, they were introduced to Zach Brown in Nashville and the band was formed.

In June 2015, the band made history when the band’s song, “Smoke,” became the first debut single for a group to reach No. 1 on the Country Airplay charts. They followed up that platinum hit with “(This Ain’t No) Drunk Dial,” which also saw great success. Their full-length debut album, “Southernality,” was released in January 2015 and landed in the Top Five.

Over seven years later, the group returned with their album, “Broken Heartland” which ushered in a new era of A Thousand Horses, marking a period of growth for the bandmates, personally and professionally. Their newest album, the acoustic “Wood & Wire,” was released in March 2023.

Seneca Resorts & Casinos use all paperless ticketing for all events at their properties. Tickets for both shows may be purchased online at senecaalleganycasino.com or ticketmaster.com.

Tickets may also be purchased in person at The Logo Shop inside Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino. A secure link, sent by either email or text, allows guests to save tickets to their phone or mobile device.

(Contact editor/reporter Kellen Quigley at [email protected].)

Reporter/Editor

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