Rewriting press releases

Can we? Of course!

That said, it’s mighty weird. First, the Dixon May Fair is in, um, May, and this is November. Skynyrd will be headlining the 130th annual Dixon May Fair on Friday, May 6. The theme of that 130th annual Dixon May Fair will be “What a Ride!” Not sure if the Dixon May Fair people are referring to the Tilt-a-Hurl and other mechanical approximations of ipecac that will be on hand to help fair goers purge any unwanted midway hot dogs, or if they’re marketing the 130th annual Dixon May Fair to an audience familiar with such words as “panhead,” “knucklehead” and “shovelhead.”

Second, I’d figured that pretty much all of the original Lynyrd Skynyrd members were playing in that heavenly rock ’n’ roll band with Duane Allman, Jimi Hendrix, Karen Carpenter and other departed icons. But original guitarist Gary Rossington is still alive, as is keyboard player Billy Powell. And vocalist Johnny Van Sant happens to be the brother of original singer Ronnie Van Zant, who perished in the 1977 plane crash that also killed guitarist Steve Gaines, backup singer Cassie Gaines and the band’s road manager.

Tickets, $39 reserved or $32 general, go on sale at 10 a.m. on December 4 through Ticketmaster at the Dixon Fairgrounds at 655 South First Street in Dixon. Not sure if that includes the Ticketmaster “service charge.” And KSEG 96.9 “The Eagle” will be giving away tickets beginning on Monday, November 29.

Lynyrd Skynyrd, of course, was the definitive Southern rock band. Yes, the Allman Brothers Band played at a higher level, perhaps, and incorporated jazz and blues elements more effectively. But the Allmans weren’t nearly the influence on modern-day country music that Skynyrd was. So, for those of you trucker-hat-wearing urban snarks who always wanted to hold your butane lighter aloft while shouting an irony-free request for “Free Bird,” here’s your chance to do it with the originators. Well, some of them.

Frâkas, James Cundiff’s new band, will be playing the featured-performer slot at the open-mic at Old Ironsides, 1901 10th Street, on Wednesday, November 24, at around 10 p.m. It’s free, which means no Ticketmaster cover charge either, and if you read this in time, because SN&R came out a day earlier than usual, you might want to head over to Ironsides and show Cundiff and band a little love.