The first in the series of national country music acts performing at Jackson Live and Event Center in Seymour is tuning up for Friday night’s show.
McBride and the Ride originally formed in 1989 and remained together until 1995. Then Terry McBride, Ray Herndon and Billy Thomas went separate ways until reuniting for a few years in the early 2000s.
Now, they are back together doing some shows, including performing in Jackson County for the first time Friday.
"This is our next attempt, and we’re really having a lot of fun," McBride said. "It’s great to get back together. We’re really enjoying it, and that’s what makes it fun for us."
Since opening Jackson Live in the summer of 2020, it has been the goal of owners Rodney and Amanda Burton to bring national recording artists to the area.
The 8,700-square-foot 500-seat venue at 1849 First Ave. hosted Saturday night shows through October 2020 until taking a break for the safety of performers and patrons during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wedding receptions, Christmas parties, bridal showers and corporate meetings were conducted there until concerts restarted in April.
Now, the Burtons are excited to begin the national series with McBride and the Ride.
Tickets are $40. Add $10 if you want to sit in the first two rows.
Rodney encourages people to listen to 92.7 Nash Icon later this week for chances to win meet-and-greet passes to meet the band after Friday’s show.
"They have a very impressive résumé. They are very talented people," Rodney said. "We’re a 500-seat venue, so you’re going to be up close and personal with these guys, and they are going to tell their story."
Ronna Bemis and Brad and Tammy Sue Magness will be the opening act Friday, starting at 7 p.m.
"That in itself is an excellent show," Rodney said. "Ronna, Brad and Tammy Sue opened up almost all of the national acts that came through Little Nashville Opry. They just have a really tight harmony and vocals, and they have a great show that they put together, so that alone is worth a lot."
Other acts in the series this year include T. Graham Brown, Exile, Andy Griggs, Darryl Worley, Doug Stone, Terry McBride and Billy Dean.
"We’re excited about it," Rodney said. "I’m hoping that it’s well-received by the community as far as support."
McBride and the Ride
Born and raised in Texas, McBride received a guitar when he was 9 and shortly after started playing in local bands and spending summers on the road with his dad, Dale McBride, who was a recording artist with several Billboard charted singles in the late 1970s.
After high school, McBride traveled and toured as part of his father’s band for three years before moving to Austin, Texas. He became a sought-after bass player in the local music scene and spent the next few years playing with Texas artists Lee Roy Parnell, Bill Carter and the Blame, Jimmy Dale Gilmore, Johnny Duncan, Rosie Flores and a two-year stint with Delbert McClinton.
In 1989, McBride traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, and the songs he had been writing found their way to MCA President Tony Brown.
"He really wanted a band," McBride said. "He knew I had played with a lot of bands. … MCA had a band, The Desert Rose Band, at the time, but they were leaving, they were done, and he sat me down and said, ‘Man, here’s the deal. We really need a band. You would be perfect for this. We’ll build the band around you and these songs that you’re writing.’"
McBride and the Ride was formed, and Brown later became its producer. He also produced music for George Strait, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill and others.
The band recorded four albums for MCA, racking up several top-five singles over the next few years, including "Sacred Ground," a No. 1 single in 1992. McBride also received 2 million airplay awards for his writing credits for "Just One Night" and "Going Out of my Mind."
McBride and the Ride received CMA and ACM nominations for Vocal Group of the Year before eventually disbanding in 1995.
McBride then focused most of his attention on songwriting and had songs cut by other artists, such as Strait, McEntire, Garth Brooks, Hank Williams Jr., Ronnie Dunn, Kix Brooks, Alan Jackson, Trace Adkins, Kenny Rogers and several others.
In 2001, McBride and the Ride got back together and recorded the album "Amarillo Sky" the next year. They released a couple of singles and toured around the album.
Then in 2004, McBride co-wrote "American Idol" finalist Josh Gracin’s top-five single "Stay With Me/Brass Bed" and followed that up by co-writing "Play Something Country" with Ronnie Dunn, which was the fastest rising single of Brooks and Dunn’s career and was the final No. 1 song for the award-winning duo.
McBride began doing some solo shows in recent years and now also has some shows with the band on this year’s calendar.
"Once we put the band back together, we’ve had some interest, so that has been cool, too," he said. "We just now played our first three dates down in Texas a couple of months ago. That was fantastic. The crowds were great. There’s just something cool about 30-year-old songs being sung by 60-year-old guys and they want to hear it."
McBride said the band’s shows are similar to the ones in the ’90s.
"If someone came and saw us, say like in 1992, it’s almost identical. The same set even," he said. "It’s just kind of a throwback, and that’s what we like. We don’t do a lot of covers. We don’t do a lot of modern things. We just kind of keep it like it is and was back in the day and do our best to re-create those songs and those arrangements that people have seen and want to hear."
McBride was the group’s primary songwriter back in the day, while Thomas played drums, and Herndon was on guitar.
Since then, Thomas has been featured on Gill’s albums and is part of a group he formed, The Time Jumpers, and Herndon has played with Lyle Lovett.
Gary Morse joins the three, primarily playing steel guitar. He played a lot with Brooks and Dunn and does a lot of studio work, including being part of new Luke Combs records.
"We’re only a four-piece band, but it sounds much bigger than that. Of course, three-part harmony on almost every single song, it really fills it up," McBride said. "It has been over 20 years since we played together, but we’ve always stayed in touch, remained friends over the years, so that has made it easy and a whole lot of fun."
The band and McBride’s solo show were booked at Jackson Live by his agent, Jimmy Dasher.
When he toured with Brooks and Dunn years ago, McBride said they performed in Indiana several times. For McBride and the Ride, though, Friday will be their first show in the Hoosier State.
"It’s all kind of new to us again, so it’s really exciting for us," McBride said. "We’re musicians at heart, and we want to be good, and we like being in a good band, so it’s a win-win for us. We get to play together, we get to sound good and then we show up and hopefully, some people come and see us. It has been really, really encouraging so far."
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Upcoming national acts performing at Jackson Live and Event Center, 1849 First Ave., Seymour:
- McBride and the Ride, Friday
- T. Graham Brown, Aug. 21
- Exile, Sept. 10
- Andy Griggs, Sept. 18
- Darryl Worley, Oct. 23
- Doug Stone, Oct. 30
- Terry McBride, Nov. 20
- Billy Dean, Dec. 4
Tickets are available by calling 812-521-1282. They are $40 for a single show (add $10 for first two rows) or there are packages available for four or eight shows.
The shows are sponsored by Schneider Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning Inc. and in part by 92.7 Nash Icon.
For information on these shows and other shows and events, follow Jackson Live and Event Center LLC on Facebook or visit jacksonliveandevents.com.
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