A Great Combination

Expo Saturday Evening Jam headliner Montgomery Gentry plays hard-driving country hits, while opening act 38 Special brings memorable ‘80s rock

Montgomery Gentry and the fun-loving attendees of the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo are a match made in honky-tonk heaven.

The 2009 Expo Saturday Evening Jam headliners and environmental services professionals both love rolling up their sleeves and putting in a good day’s work.

One of Nashville’s top duos over the past decade, Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry pride themselves on song after song recognizing the blue-collar work ethic and small-town values that give flight to the American Dream.

Montgomery Gentry stops at the Expo in Louisville on Saturday Feb. 28 in support of the 2008 CD release, When I Knew It All, and the megahit, Roll With Me. The Saturday Evening Jam kicks off with a hard-charging show by Southern rock legends 38 Special. The Jam starts at 5 p.m. at the Broadbent Arena, which connects to the Kentucky Expo-sition Center, home of the Expo. The event is free to registered Expo attendees.

Country rock

Steve Huey of All Music Guide says Montgomery Gentry “evokes the sound and spirit of Southern rockers like Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Marshall Tucker Band, and Charlie Daniels, painting themselves as rowdy redneck rebels who still hold small-town values.”

Kentucky natives Montgomery and Gentry first played together as teens in a band called Early Tymz in Lexington. That band was led by John Michael Montgomery, Eddie’s younger brother, who became a solo sensation. The duo went their separate ways, but got back together and recorded a debut album, Tattoos and Scars, which spawned a No. 5 single, Lonely and Gone, and won them the Country Music Association Vocal Duo Award in 2000.

The accolades kept coming. They won similar awards from the Academy of Country Music for Top New Vocal Group or Duo, the 2000 and 2001 Radio & Records Readers’ Poll award for Top Country Duo, and the American Music Award for Favorite New Artist – Country in 2000.

In 2001, they reached No. 2 on the country charts with the single She Couldn’t Change Me, from their album, Carrying On. In 2002, they released My Town with three more Top 5 hits: the title track, Speed and their well-known tribute to the honky tonk life, Hell Yeah. They hit No. 1 twice in 2004 with If You Ever Stop Loving Me and Something to Be Proud Of from the You Do Your Thing album.

The flurry of hits led to bigger and bigger crowds. Montgomery Gentry built stage presence while performing for more than a million fans, both headlining and as part of feel-good extravaganza shows.

Celebrate workers

At their Web site, http://montgomerygentry.musiccitynetworks.com, the duo say they share a rapport with their fans, rooted in sunup-to-sundown work ethics, God, country and family, and the ability to celebrate life and endure hardship. “We’ve never sold out to anybody,” says Montgomery, “What you see with us is what you get.”

Gentry adds, “We’ve always been consistent about choosing songs that deal with the working class, songs people can identify with. We’ve stayed true to that.”

While Montgomery Gentry still likes hard-edged honky tonk themes, Billboard noted that the melodic Roll With Me shows more mature artistry. “Like their audience, the two are a little older and a lot wiser than they were a decade ago,” Billboard observes.

“And their new set reflects hard-earned maturity balanced with the desire (and ability) to get into a little trouble on occasion. That mix is perhaps best represented by I Pick My Parties, which features summer tour mate Toby Keith. All three singers, it seems, are a little more selective than they were in their wilder days.”

Their wide-ranging charitable efforts in recent years also speak to maturity. Montgomery explains that they both want to do good and enjoy life, and bring that attitude to the stage.

“Life is very short and you’d better live every second of it, because you never know when your name’s going to be called,” Montgomery says. “That’s the way I’ve always lived my life. My parents taught me to live that way. We keep to our roots. We’ll always talk about the good, the bad, the ugly and the party on the weekend. We’ll always include the Man Upstairs and our American heroes.’’

A rockin’ opener

The Jam’s opening act, 38 Special, might seem like a departure from the country acts that headline the Expo. But in reality, the chasm between the catchy guitar riffs from popular ‘80s rock bands and today’s hottest country acts is often bridged with smash hits.

Expo veteran Trace Adkins performed with 38 Special in a popular Country Music Television Cross-roads episode, in which Adkins said his band was giddy to work with a group led by a member of a Southern rock royal family, Donnie Van Zant. The 38 Special founder is the brother of the late Ronnie Van Zant, of Lynyrd Skynyrd fame.

The group, named for a hot pistol, was formed in Jacksonville, Fla., in 1975 when Southern swamp rock, led by groups including Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet and Blackfoot, was extremely popular. But 38 Special cultivated a slightly more refined sound, with tight, pop-friendly guitar hooks on a series of rock classics from the early 1980s.

In its heyday beginning before the 1981 release Wild-Eyed Southern Boys, 38 Special recorded seven Top 40 singles, including their biggest hit, an uncharacteristic ballad, Second Chance. According to the Web site www.digitaldreamdoor.com, the group produced three of the all-time best Southern Rock songs, with Hold On Loosely, Second Chance, and Rockin’ Into The Night.



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