Legendary Muscle Shoals band Jackson Highway will regroup Saturday for a benefit concert in Fort Payne, Ala.
The show is presented by the Big Wills Arts Council in support of Arts in Education programming in Fort Payne City Schools.
For 13 years in the 1970s and ’80s, Jackson Highway toured the United States and Canada with such acts as Ted Nugent, UFO, Triumph and Blackfoot. They played Alabama’s first June Jam and recorded two albums at Muscle Shoals Sound Recording Studio with the Legendary Swampers, Jimmy Johnson and David Hood. It was Johnson who gave the Southern rock band its name, identifying the musicians with the iconic studio’s address.
The former bandmates still make a living in the music industry but have not recorded together in 30 years. Saturday’s concert is one of several dates that finds the band reunited onstage, according to Russell Gulley, the group’s bass player and executive director of the nonprofit Big Wills Arts Council.
The year also marks a return to recording, with plans to release new music as well as unreleased recording from their heyday. The group remains popular on radio in Europe, particularly in France, he said.
IF YOU GO
* What: Jackson Highway concert.
* When: 7 p.m. CDT Saturday (doors open at 6 p.m.).
* Where: DeKalb Theatre, 306 Gault Ave. N., Fort Payne, Ala.
* Admission: $20 in advance.
* Phone: 256-845-2224.
* Web site:jacksonhighwayconcertforartseducation-efbevent.eventbrite.com.
TICKET OUTLETS IN FORT PAYNE
* Fort Payne Chamber of Commerce, 300 Gault Ave. N.
* Roger’s Pawn, Music & Jewelry, 232 Gault Ave. N.
* The Strand, 212 Gault Ave. N.
* The Mainstreet Deli, 203 Gault Ave. S.
* Bruce’s Foodland Plus, 202 Greenhill Blvd.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Members of Jackson Highway have maintained music careers since their performing days in the 1970s and ’80s.
* Dennis Gulley (rhythm guitar/lead vocals) operates a recording studio in Nashville with former Allman Brothers keyboardist Johnny Neel.
* Britt Meacham (lead guitar) performs along the Gulf Coast, tours with The Beat Daddys and has toured the USA and Japan with blues legend Little Milton.
* Tommy Patterson (keyboard) works as a session player in Muscle Shoals with such artists as The Oak Ridge Boys, Jimmy Buffett and Jason Isbell, and has toured as keyboardist for Little Richard.
* Russell Gulley (bass) continues to record and perform at festivals and arts venues across the region, serves as an artist-in-residence for schools around Alabama and currently is executive director of the Big Wills Arts Council.
* Ronnie Vance (original drummer) is an entrepreneur in Florence, Ala.
ABOUT ARTS IN EDUCATION
The Big Wills Arts Council received a one-time grant from the Alabama Car Tag Fund to assist in the presentation of this year’s visiting artists program in Fort Payne City Schools. Participants:
* Anne Chancey Dalton, a dramatic historical storyteller and author of “Massacre Island,” “Simon Sails to La Louisiane” and “Dream Ghost.”
* John Scalici, internationally recognized drum circle facilitator, speaker, musician, clinician and master teaching artist who promotes “Unity Through Rhythm.”
Ronald McCall, an award-winning actor, vocalist, director and teaching artist whose credits include “Fried Green Tomatoes,” “In the Heat of the Night” and “The Rosa Parks Story.”