Fur Peace launches season with blockbuster show
March 27, 2008
The good news first. The Fur Peace Ranch in Meigs County is launching its 11th season this Sunday with a blockbuster concert featuring two Rock ’n Roll Hall of Famers, Jorma Kaukonen and Roger McGuinn.
The bad news — if you don’t have a ticket already, you might as well just stay home and listen to your dusty old Byrds’ “Fifth Dimension” album or groove to Jefferson Airplane’s “Volunteers.” (McGuinn helped found the Byrds, while Kaukonen was a founding member of Jefferson Airplane.)
John Hurlbut, spokesman for the Fur Peace Ranch, confirmed Monday that the show featuring the two rock ’n roll legends has been sold out for two months. All the same, he said it’s important to recognize that such a big show is happening right in Athens’ backyard.
“This is a very special show that the Ranch is proud to be hosting,” he said. “It features two very important artists in the history of rock music on the same bill. We have had a lot of ticket sales from far outside of our local area, and since this show is not happening anywhere else in the universe this year, people are coming from all over to see this magical night of music right here in southeast Ohio.”
Kaukonen is familiar to most Athens area music fans, having established the Fur Peace Ranch guitar school/camp more than a decade ago in rural Meigs County, about 20 minutes south of Athens. He played lead guitar with the Jefferson Airplane, and then has played for many years with Hot Tuna. More recently, he has issued two critically acclaimed acoustic country-blues albums, “Blue Country Heart” (2002, Sony) and “Stars in My Crown” (2007, Red House). His shows locally and on tour still command big audiences.
McGuinn, who mesmerized a sold-out audience at the FPR two years ago, helped found the seminal L.A. jangle-rock band, The Byrds, in the mid- ’60s. As the Byrds’ leader, he had a major role in the evolution of the country-rock genre that later mutated into alternative country.
Sunday’s show starts at 8 p.m. with Jorma taking the stage first. The two may play together briefly, though that’s not a certainty.
The Fur Peace Ranch — with its performing venue the Fur Peace Station — has a full slate of national acts scheduled in this 11th season. Among the shows scheduled: Hot Tuna (April 12), the Will Kimbrough Trio with Pete Huttlinger opening (May 3), Tony Emmanuel (May 17), the G.E. Smith Band and the Heroes of Electric Guitar (Jorma, Bob Margolin and Larry Coryell) (June 14), acoustic Hot Tuna with Chris Smither opening (Aug. 23), Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks (Sept. 13), Warren Haynes (Sept. 20), and Hillman and Pederson (Oct. 11), David Bromberg and Jorma “Alone Together” (Oct. 25), and Riders in the Sky (Nov. 9), among others.
For ticket details and other information, call 740-992-2575 or e-mail info@furpeaceranch.com.
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