Lynyrd Skynyrd Concert Review

It was in the mid 1970's when I first heard Lynyrd Skynyrd music on the local FM radio station. Some of my friends had recently gone to one of their concerts and gave the show rave reviews. I remember the October morning in 1977 when I heard of the plane crash that took the life of Ronnie Van Zant and others. We all thought-oh well another big rock act is history. But then in the summer of 1981 the Rossington Collins band was formed, they toured and I went to see a few of their shows. Skynyrd was showing signs of life.

In 1987 the band reformed and has toured ever since. Today the present band line up is; Johnny Van Zant, Gary Rossington, Rickey Medlocke, Michael Cartellone, Mark Matejka, Robert Kearns and Peter Keys.

On October 7 2008 I went to an outdoor Skynyrd concert at the Carolina Entertainment Complex in Marion South Carolina... There had been a bit of a rain shower before the show, but in no way did this affect the attitude of the crowd. This was a perfect outdoor venue for this show with a real festival feel to it. We all knew it was going to be a great show. Some of the great songs played by the band that evening included; Whats Your Name, Gimme Three Steps, Tuesdays Gone, Free Bird, Sweet Home Alabama, Call Me The Breeze and Saturday Night Special. What impressed me as always was the spot on guitar playing of Gary Rossington. Being that this was the third time I’d seen the band since 1999 I was also super impressed with the guitar playing of Ricky Medlocke. Also this was the last time in concert I’d ever see Billy Powell, as he passed away in early 2009. Billy was everybodys favorite, always greeting the crowd with a wave and a smile as he jammed on the piano. Perhaps God called Billy to early also. I know its not the original band, but if your looking for an authentic southern rockin jammin good time–then you found it here-go see them soon !