You might think it funny for a band that got its start amid the seaside kitsch of Myrtle Beach to have a name like Alabama. But sort of like calling your Brooklyn-born baby Brooklyn, these guys were actually appropriately named after their native state.
In 1969, cousins Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry started a band called Wildcountry, but in the '70s, when signing to a label, they changed their handle. Shortly thereafter, they began to fill the mainstream with mountain music. The band properly reunited in 2011 to collaborate with Brad Paisley on the aptly titled "Old Alabama."
And in honor of their four decades of making tunes, Alabama is taking its classic country to the road yet again. Though it's playing a show at Hard Rock Live this week, this won't be the group's only visit to South Florida in 2013.
The band jumped on the cruise ship concert train and is setting sail on the Alabama & Friends Festival at Sea from Miami this October. The ship's destination is the Bahamas, a fitting place to tip forward your cowboy hat, suck down a Kalik, and weep quietly to "Love in the First Degree."
Singer Owen rightfully told Reuters recently, "It's just one of the lucky stories in country music. It's great to know that people haven't forgotten the music."
For any kind of band, that's close enough to perfect.
Alabama. Back to the Bowery Tour. 8 p.m. Saturday, August 10, at Hard Rock Live, 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood. Tickets cost $79 to $169 plus fees. Call 954-797-5531, or visit hardrocklivehollywoodfl.com.
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