The Dixie Dregs in the ’70s
The Dixie Dregs are gearing up for a national U.S. tour starting Feb. 28. The performances will mark the first time in 40 years the original band—Steve Morse (guitar), Andy West (bass), Allen Sloan (violin), Steve Davidowski (keyboards) and Rod Morgenstein (drums)—will share the stage. Tickets are on sale here and here.
The “Dawn of the Dregs” tour will take the six-time Grammy-nominated band across the country starting in Clearwater, Fla., and making stops in Atlanta, Charleston, Washington, D.C., New York City, Boston, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee, Boulder and Phoenix, among many others, before wrapping April 28 back in Atlanta.
“This tour is the result of the overwhelming requests we’ve received from a loyal audience of diehard Dregheads, and new fans who have never seen us perform live, but discovered the band for the first time through Steve’s membership in Deep Purple, or Rod as the drummer for Winger,” said West.
“I remember telling a booking agent who came to see us in Augusta, GA, ‘No!’ when he said he could put money in our pockets right away if we would get a singer and have more cover tunes,” said Morse. “It was literally meeting each person in the audience, them bringing a friend next time, and so on that got us to the point where we could play tours. We were ‘too rock for jazz audiences,’ ‘too jazz for rock audiences,’ and too weird for country audiences. But, I watched the people and they were responding so well to our music that I knew we could find a little niche to exist in, even if we had to make it up ourselves.”
Related: Johnny Sandlin, who produced the Dixie Dregs and other Southern rock bands, dies
The band traces its true beginnings to the band Dixie Grit, which started in a Georgia high school with Steve Morse on guitar and Andy West on bass. Dixie Grit morphed into the Dixie Dregs at the University of Miami School of Music, where Allen Sloan and Rod Morgenstein joined up with Morse and West, who were the “dregs” of Dixie Grit.
The members of the Dixie Dregs remained committed to attending the University of Miami School of Music, which hosted a lively and talented musical community during their tenure, including future greats Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius, T Lavitz and Bruce Hornsby, among many others. In 1975, the group’s demo album, The Great Spectacular, was recorded at the University of Miami and then re-released on CD in 1997.
After graduation, the band moved back to Augusta, where Steve Davidowski (keyboards) completed the band. The band paid its dues and honed its skills playing in bars and venues throughout the South in the mid-’70s, fusing rock with progressive and jazz elements.
Based on a short demo and a tip from former Allman Brothers keyboardist Chuck Leavell, along with Allman/Dregs tour manager Twiggs Lyndon, Capricorn Records signed the Dixie Dregs to record Free Fall (1977). After its release, they became a cult-favorite band.
Dixie Dregs Tour Dates
Wed 2/28 Clearwater, FL – Capitol Theatre
Thu 3/1 Ponte Vedra Beach, FL – Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
Fri 3/2 Augusta, GA – Bell Auditorium
Sat 3/3 Atlanta, GA – Center Stage
Mon 3/5 Charleston, SC – Charleston Music Hall
Tue 3/6 Durham, NC – Carolina Theater
Wed 3/7 Washington, DC – Lincoln Theater
Thu 3/8 Wilmington, DE – The Grand Opera House
Fri 3/9 Collingswood, NJ – Scottish Rite Auditorium
Sat 3/10 Newton, NJ – Newton Theater
Mon 3/12 Port Chester, NY – Capitol Theatre
Wed 3/14 Ridgefield, CT – Ridgefield Playhouse
Thu 3/15 Huntington, NY – The Paramount
Fri 3/16 New York, NY – The Town Hall
Sat 3/17 Woodstock, NY – Bearsville Theater
Sun 3/18 Derry, NH – Tupelo Music Hall
Mon 3/19 Boston, MA – Wilbur Theater
Wed 3/21 Albany, NY – The Egg
Thu 3/22 Pittsburgh, PA – Carnegie Music Hall
Fri 3/23 Cleveland, OH – Kent Stage
Sat 3/24 Chicago, IL – The Vic Theater
Wed 4/11 Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theater
Thu 4/12 Des Moines, IA – Hoyt Sherman Place
Sat 4/14 Boulder, CO – Boulder Theatre
Tue 4/17 Santa Cruz, CA – Rio Theater
Wed 4/18 Sacramento, CA – Crest Theatre
Thu 4/19 Fresno, CA – The Tower Theater
Fri 4/20 San Juan Capistrano, CA – The Coach House
Sat 4/21 Agoura Hills, CA – The Canyon Club
Sun 4/22 Phoenix, AZ – Scottsdale Center for the Perf. Arts
Wed 4/25 Dallas, TX – House of Blues
Thu 4/26 New Orleans, LA – House of blues
Sat 4/28 Atlanta, GA – Center Stage
Watch Rod Morgenstein announce the reunion of the classic lineup
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