Marshall Tucker, Skydog 77 festival & the symphony highlight Macon’s music scene

Southern Rock, Beethoven with a twist of Broadway, plus a side portion of hardy fiddling are all in store for Macon through Monday.

These options for getting out and about show Macon’s past and its alive-and-kicking modern music scene. Look closely and you’ll find a blend of connection and community running between them.

The annual Skydog 77 festival is Sunday and the Macon-Mercer Symphony Orchestra performs Monday but first, there’s Friday’s Marshall Tucker Band and Wet Willie show at Macon City Auditorium. That means Southern Rock from Capricorn Records’ 1970s heyday.

I talked to Doug Gray, Marshall Tucker’s vocalist and remaining original member, who told me it’s good getting back to Macon where he lived for a decade as the band began turning out songs like “Can’t You See,” “Fire on the Mountain” and “Heard It in a Love Song.”

“We’re completely happy about everything that’s going on in Macon these days and it’s a big treat to be there with Wet Willie on a weekend Skydog is happening and something as great as the Macon-Mercer Symphony is going on,” he said. “All that says a lot about how well Macon’s doing and the music that’s happening there.”

A connection between Marshall Tucker and Wet Willie began early when Jimmy Hall, Wet Willie’s singer, told the Marshall Tucker boys to book a date at Grant’s Lounge so people from Capricorn Studios could hear them. They did and Capricorn producer/house musician Paul Hornsby recorded demos for them that label founders Frank Fenter and Phil Walden liked.

“We hadn’t even thought of a name early on and just grabbed Marshall Tucker off a tag on keys to our practice place,” Gray said. “Then we made all these friendships and people started coming out to hear our music. I don’t see any reason to retire. Once we’re introduced, the spotlight comes on and people want to hear us I feel like that 21-year-old kid with a dream again.”

Following back surgery, Gray said his health is good and he’s even gotten around to hanging up some Gold Records he’s had since back in the day. His daughter told him he really ought to.

Marshall Tucker’s steady guitarist since the late 1990s, Chris Hicks, demonstrates another mark of community and connectedness: He’s planning to play Skydog on Sunday and it won’t be for the first time. Hicks grew up around Macon — as did Marcus James Henderson who now plays keyboards, saxophone and flute for Marshall Tucker — and he’s been a Skydog regular for years.

Of course, the one-day festival honors the life and music of Duane Allman, legendary guitarist and initial guiding light of the Allman Brothers Band. Skydog is organized by a team led by Glenn Harrell and features a core group of young and older guitarists and musicians who appreciate and can play Allman’s music.

“They aren’t just talented — there are a lot of talented people around — they’re talented and know how to play in Duane’s pre-Allman Brothers and early Allman Brothers style. We look for people who play it and love it.”

Skydog celebrates 18 year

This year is the Skydog festival’s 18th year and the 77 behind the name indicates Duane Allman would have been 77 this year. The Allman Brothers’ other founding guitarist, Dickey Betts, is 80 this year and a tribute is set for him.

Musicians will play from noon to 5 p.m. at Carolyn Crayton Park and the whole affair benefits Daybreak Day Resource Center, managed by Depaul USA Macon. Daybreak provides programs and services for those affected by homelessness. Admittance to Skydog is 10 or more items to donate to Daybreak. A list of suggested items is at www.skydogmacon.com.

“It’s never been about making the day a big commercial event,” Harrell said. “It’s about honoring Duane and serving the community.”

Special guests will perform and they further indicate connectedness. On one hand, there’s Macon’s Bo Ponder who at 16 replaced Otis Redding in Johnny Jenkins’ Pinetoppers band. That led to a singing, songwriting and recording career including recording for Capricorn and working with Jackie Wilson, Little Richard and others.

On the other hand is internationally acclaimed violinist and Macon native Robert McDuffie who will perform with his student, River Sawchyn, a junior at Mercer University’s McDuffie Center for Strings.

“River is quite a fiddler as well as being an outstanding classical player,” McDuffie said. “We’ll play ‘Ashokan Farewell,’ the theme from Ken Burns’ documentary ‘The Civil War.’ We’ll play and I’ll just let River do his thing with me backing him up.”

McDuffie said the haunting “Ashokan Farewell” has long been in his repertoire, performing it once with Ken Burns giving a dramatic reading of Lincoln’s second inaugural address. He said he and Sawchyn will also play the song earlier on Sunday for the congregation of Beulahland Bible Church.

An Allman Brothers fan since his youth, McDuffie said he’s excited to be part of Skydog 77 and benefit Daybreak. He said students from the McDuffie Center have been involved with and done concerts at Daybreak through the years.

Macon-Mercer Symphony up

Then comes Monday when Sawchyn will be on stage at the Grand Opera House with fellow McDuffie Center students who, along with principal players from the Atlanta Symphony, comprise the Macon-Mercer Symphony Orchestra. Guest conductor Filippo Ciabatti will lead Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 then, the final community tie-in, a symphonic version of songs from the multi-Tony-winning Broadway musical version of ‘The Color Purple” Sung by a reunited Theatre Macon cast who staged the production in 2022. The score features jazz, ragtime, gospel, blues and African music.

“We’re thrilled to bring the cast back together to do these songs in a new and different way,” said Richard Frazier, artistic director at Theatre Macon. “This new envisioning focuses on the music and lyrics. ‘The Color Purple’ was Theatre Macon’s first production with an all-Black cast and it holds a special place in my heart.”

The Macon-Mercer Symphony is in its third season and was created as a learning opportunity for McDuffie Center students. The added benefit is the community gets to hear great music performed by great musicians.

“It’s exceeded our expectations,” McDuffie said. “There was worry the excitement might fade after the first season but attendance has only grown and we’re meeting our goal of having the symphony be something for our whole community. Listen to me — I pay taxes living in New York City but I can’t help saying ‘our community’ about Macon. I still love Macon and love coming here frequently to teach and be part of ‘our community.’”

To take part in the weekend, you can find out more about The Marshall Tucker Band and ticketing by going to www.marshalltucker.com and www.maconcentreplex.org/auditorium.

Ticketing and more on the Macon-Mercer Symphony are at www.mcduffie.mercer.edu/symphony along with access to information about the McDuffie Center. Ticketing is also available through www.thegrandmacon.com.

Contact writer Michael W. Pannell at mwpannell@gmail.com.