The Marshall Tucker Band was one of the defining groups behind the southern rock genre, and decades after its inception, the band is still going strong.
Tapped to join Lynyrd Skynyrd on the band’s The Last of the Street Survivors Farewell Tour, lead singer and founding member of the Marshall Tucker Band Doug Gray spoke with PopCulture.com to discuss the upcoming trek, reminiscing about the years of experiences the two bands have shared that the memories they’re sure to make on the road this summer.
Videos by PopCulture.com
“I know all of these guys are going to sound good and we’re going to do it,” Gray said of the tour. “Every night’s going to be the best show that both of us have ever put on, which will lead to more memories for people and that will be looking to come back again.”
“They call it the final tour, but that band and the memory of that band is going to last forever,” he added. “This is forever. This is a forever tour.”
Gray also touched on the way that both the Marshall Tucker Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s music has transcended generations, creating new fans each year and populating the bands’ shows with grandparents as well as their grandkids.
“When we’re together, it really gives people a blast of not only the past, but the first time they took their grandkids to see a band as well, and now they’re taking their great grandkids,” the singer explained. “It’s kind of a weird vibe you get when you see all the different ages of all the people that are out there. You see some great-grandpas, and you see some grandpas and some dads and bring their kids. We didn’t even have cell phones when we all started. You know what I mean?”
“I feel really blessed and fortunate that people have stuck not only with Skynyrd, but with us as well,” he continued. “‘Can’t You See?’ and ‘Fire on the Mountain’ and ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ and all those other songs, ‘Gimme Three Steps,’ stuff like that…they’re understandable to most people. They know what the songs are about.”
While Skynyrd has said that this tour will be their last, the same can’t be said for the Marshall Tucker Band.
“This is just a day for us, an important day to play with them,” Gray explained.
“When you’ve gotta band that really wants to sound good, you’re going to get some monumental stuff,” he added. “I think this whole tour is going to be monumental to most of the people that come.”
See the list of Lynyrd Skynyrd dates featuring the Marshall Tucker Band below.
Jul 13 — Darien, NY
July 14 — Hartford, CT
July 20 — Mansfield, MA
July 21 — Bethel, NY
July 27 — Cleveland, OH
Aug. 03 — Tinley Park, IL
Aug. 04 — Noblesville, IN
Aug. 10 — Detroit, MI
Aug. 24 — Syracuse, NY
Aug. 25 — Burgettstown, PA
Sept. 01 — Atlanta, GA
Photo Credit: Randy Miramontez / Shutterstock.com
Related Posts
-
(L-R) Musicians Kevin Hayes, Ketch Secor, Morgan Jahnig, Willie Watson, Cory Younts and Gill Landry of Old Crow Medicine Show performs during the 2011 Hangout Music Festival on May 22, 2011 in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
