Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Concert

After 45 years, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band still in style

Music isn't a joke to him, mind you. But the fact that the American roots and country rock band is still influencing generations of musicians and fans after 45 years is entertaining to the drummer, harmonica player and singer — even a little amusing.

“I'm currently cool,” Fadden said, laughing. “What goes around comes around.”

Indeed, the music the band members tapped into beginning in the late 1960s has seen a resurgence during the past decade, much of it lumped into the category of Americana. While traditional country stars such as Maybelle Carter and Roy Acuff may have looked a bit different than the long-haired “dirt band” hippies as they came together to record the 1972 platinum album “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” artists in the 2011 folk scene have melded the styles of those generations together in look and sound.

Americana is both old and new, and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band helped bring the scene about.

They'll perform 8 p.m. Friday at the Shoals Theatre, 123 N. Seminary St., Florence, with Shoals band Doc Dailey & Magnolia Devil opening.

“I have been a fan of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band for as long as I can remember, and it just seemed like a perfect show to have in the Shoals,” concert promoter J.D. McCorkle said in an email.

“This band is an iconic act that has collaborated with many musical legends and created great music. ‘Fishin' in the Dark' is a classic that people young and old still know and can sing along to. There aren't many acts still playing live with that kind of power, to stay relevant over multiple generations.

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