Lynyrd Skynyrd at the TaxSlayer Center -- July 16.
Saturday, July 16, 7 p.m.
TaxSlayer Center, 1201 River Drive, Moline IL
Whenever you hear someone shout out “Sweet Home Alabama!” or, more likely, “Free Bird!” when a band asks the crowd for requests, you have one group to thank for the songs' continued popularity: the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers of Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Southern- and country-rock legends whose “Big Wheels Keep on Turnin'” tour lands at Moline's TaxSlayer Center on July 16.
Originally formed in Jacksonville, Florida, as My Backyard in 1964, the group was initially comprised of Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom (bass guitar), and Bob Burns (drums). The band spent five years touring small venues under various names and with several lineup changes before deciding on Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1969, and the group released its first album in 1973, having settled on a lineup that included bassist Leon Wilkeson, keyboardist Billy Powell, and guitarist Ed King. At the height of their fame in the 1970s, the band popularized the Southern-rock genre with songs such as "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird," their smash successes including such top-10 Billboard hits as 1975's Nuthin' Fancy and 1977's Street Survivors. But after releasing five studio albums and one live album, Lynyrd Skynyrd's career was abruptly halted on October 20, 1977, when their chartered airplane crashed, killing Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines, and seriously injuring the rest of the band.
Lynyrd Skynyrd reformed in 1987 for a reunion tour with Ronnie's brother Johnny Van Zant as lead vocalist, and later Billboard hits for the resurrected rock act included 2003's Vicious Cycle, 2009's God & Guns, and 2012's Last of a Dyin' Breed. Presently, the musicians continue to tour and record with co-founder Rossington (the band's sole continuous member), Johnny Van Zant, and Rickey Medlocke, who first wrote and recorded with the band from 1971 to 1972 before his return in 1996. To date, Lynyrd Skynyrd has sold 28 million albums in the U.S. since 1991, when Nielsen SoundScan started tracking sales (not including album sales for the band's first 17 years). In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the band on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time," and Lynyrd Skynyrd was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 13, 2006.
Joining the group on their North American tour is country singer/songwriter Chris Janson, the Nashville star who released his first album in 2015. Janson has recorded three full-length albums – Buy Me a Boat, Everybody, and Real Friends – that all landed in the top 12 of Billboard's country chart, and he has charted multiple singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, among them the number-one hits "Good Vibes" and "Done." Janson has also performed on albums by Holly Williams and Lee Brice, and has co-written singles for the likes of Tim McGraw, LoCash, Randy Houser, and Hank Williams Jr.
Lynyrd Skynard and Chris Janson bring their “Big Wheels Keep on Turnin'” tour to Moline on July 16, admission to the 7 p.m. concert event is $35-150, and tickets are available by calling (800)745-3000 and visiting TaxSlayerCenter.com.
