By Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2007 and will be celebrating in 2008 on the road with a tour, dubbed Party in the Dirt, which also includes Poco and Jim Messina. Tour dates have not been released yet.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is known world-wide for “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” and their #1 hits “Fishin’ In The Dark” and “Baby’s Got A Hold On Me.”
In 2008, Poco will be celebrating its own 40th Anniversary as a band. Poco today consists of Rusty Young, playing an array of stringed instruments including mandolin, Paul Cotton, longtime bassist/singer Jack Sundrud and drummer George Lawrence. Their set consists mostly of material from the 1970s, including hits such as “Crazy Love” and “Heart of the Night.”
Messina formed Poco after serving as the recording engineer, producer and eventually bassist for Buffalo Springfield. He played lead guitar and supplied vocals and some songwriting to the band. After recording two albums, Messina met Kenny Loggins, and the two united in the duo Loggins and Messina, releasing a number of popular albums. After a 29-year spilt, they reconnected and decided to hit the road as a duo again touring nationwide.
