Charlie Daniels to play in Lake George
LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. » Country and Southern rock musician Charlie Daniels will perform this weekend in Lake George.
The Charlie Daniels Band, as part of its U.S. summer tour, is scheduled to play Sunday evening at Charles R. Wood Park.
Daniels, perhaps best known for his hit “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” has been a major architect of country, bluegrass and Southern rock music.
After being inducted to the into the Grand Ole Opry, the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum and the Country Music Hall of Fame, along with having a star on the Music City Walk of Fame, some would say he’s done it all. But this musician has a lot left to give.
With decades of touring under his belt, the 81-year-old artist still finds excitement in giving fans what they want.
“I love getting on stage and entertaining people,” he said. “It’s such a big part of my life. I thoroughly enjoy it.”
This year, Daniels and his band are on track to do about 110 shows. “I just look forward to playing every night. I love what I do,” he said. “I really enjoy getting up on stage in front of people.”
Though he’s seen and done a lot over the years, Daniels is still crossing some firsts off his list. Following his memoir, “Never Look at the Empty Seats,” which came out last year, he’s getting ready to release his first fiction book, an inspirational work about growing up in a small Southern town called “The Season of Innocence.”
Daniels also has some new music, which he recently finished recording. He isn’t sharing much about it yet but is waiting for listeners to determine what they think of the new songs.
But change is around the corner, he said. “Country music, any kind of music, has to change. It’ll be changing as time goes along. It will change, it will morph into something else, and then something else. That’s just the way music works. It has to change. It can’t stay the same.”
Looking ahead, Daniels is happy to continue living life just the way he always has. “I just love doing what I’m doing,” he said. “I’m still recording, still writing songs, making records, traveling on the road, writing books. I’m just always doing something. It’s kind of the rhythm of my life, and it has been for a long time.”
That constant rhythm shows no sign of stopping anytime soon. “I enjoy having a bunch of balls in the air at the same time, and that’s kind of what I’m involved in right now,” Daniels said. “I’ve got several things go-
ing on. I’m finishing an album. I’m finishing another book. I’m just constantly doing something. I guess that’s one thing that kind of makes me forget the fact that I’m 81 years old, and ain’t supposed to be doing all this.”
The gates for Sunday’s show open at 5 p.m., and music is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. with opening act True Grit Outlaws.
Tickets are available online at www.eventbrite.com, starting at $35. Tickets also can be purchased at the Double M Western Store in Ballston Spa, Parkway Music in Clifton Park, Saratoga Guitar’s Broadway location in Saratoga Springs, King Neptune’s Pub, the Lake George Town Hall, the Lake George Village Hall, the Holiday Inn and the Leather Outlet in Lake George. More information can be found at adkmusicfest. com/cdblg.