It’s understandable why fans are skeptical of swan song tours.
Kiss and Mötley Crüe are examples of bands who claimed to embark on final tours but returned to the road.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band — which performs Sunday, Aug. 18, at the Fox Tucson Theatre — has said it is on its last tour. It sounds like it really is the fans’ final chance to catch the venerable country-rock band.
“This is our farewell tour,” said keyboardist Bob Carpenter from his LA home. “At some point we’re going to have to end this and it’s about time. We’re scaling down now. We’re going to play about 60 shows this year and this is it. We can’t do this forever. We wanted to go out while we’re still playing well. We have no desire to be like Willie Nelson, who is still touring (at 91 years of age). This can’t go on forever. It’s been so long since we formed this band and we’re incredibly fortunate to have lived this long and that we maintained our health. We’re not going to push it.”
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band formed in May 1966 in Long Beach. Vocalist-guitarist Jeff Hanna formed the group with drummer Jimmie Fadden and Carpenter started sitting in with the act in 1975, becoming a member four years later. The trio is on a 44-year run.
“It’s been incredible,” Carpenter said. “We have no regrets. We’ve accomplished so much.”
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has its share of hits. There’s the cover of the Jerry Jeff Walker classic “Mr. Bojangles,” which peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Modern Day Romance” and “Fishin’ in the Dark” topped the country charts.
Expect the hits when the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band plays the the Fox, but the group is also dusting off favorites that haven’t been performed in years.
“We’re putting new old songs into our set,” Carpenter said. “We’re covering every decade. It’s fun to reintroduce ourselves to these songs. It’s good for our brains to try to remember this stuff. It’s fun to play them since we won’t play them exactly how they were recorded. The arrangements to the songs will be different when you see us.”
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band will take a page out of its pal Bob Dylan’s book. “Dirt Does Dylan,” the group’s latest album, which dropped in 2022, is a collection of covers of arguably the greatest songwriter in rock history.
“We had such a great time recording those (Dylan) songs with our band and with some of our friends,” Carpenter said. “It was truly a labor of love. It was a challenge for us. We thought, ‘How can the Dirt Band make this stuff work? It wasn’t going to be easy.’”
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band — which also includes guitarist Jaime Hanna, who is Jeff Hanna’s son, bassist Jim Photoglo and fiddler Ross Holmes — knocked it out of the park. However, the Dirt Band never received feedback from the Dylan camp. But the group and Dylan once split a dressing room for the first Farm Aid performance in 1984.
“We shared space during that show with Bob and John Denver,” Carpenter recalled. “We didn’t get to share the stage with him, but it was nice sharing a dressing room. It was an experience that I’ll never forget.”
Carpenter isn’t certain if the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band will play one-off shows or record once the curtain is drawn on the band. “I don’t know what we’ll do,” Carpenter said.
“I’m going to be 78 this year and I’m fine with being here at home. Right now, I’m going to help my wife in the garden get the aphids off the roses. I’m fine with just being around here, since we’ve accomplished so much over the years. We’ll see what happens in a year or so. Right now, I’m just going to focus on the shows since we’re making sure we give fans the best possible show. It’ll be something they can remember us by.”
Carpenter can’t help but look back at his salad days as he approaches octogenarian status. “Back in the day, I played clubs with a band. I was able to make money, and it was so much fun,” Carpenter said.
“The great thing is that I didn’t have to wear a suit and tie to work. I could wear what I wanted, and I was good at it. I always loved music. My family was musical. We sang in church. All of that led to a career. It’s been a long and amazing run and I’m fine with all that the Nitty Gritty Band has accomplished. Nothing lasts forever.”
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
WHEN: 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18
WHERE: Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress Street, Tucson
COST: Tickets start at $20
INFO: foxtucson.com
