A now-legendary concert by the Ozark Mountain Daredevils during the 2014 Birthplace of Route 66 Festival in Springfield, Missouri, will be rebroadcast Sept. 4 on the festival’s website.
That sold-out show, which the band gave the city permission to livestream that night from inside the historic Gillioz Theatre to a screen at Park Central Square, drew 2,000 people in lawn chairs to the square.
According to the Ozark Independent, the festival’s organizers were looking for some sort of alternate event in the wake of its cancellation this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city approached the remaining Daredevils about rebroadcasting the concert as both a way to bring the community some of the spirit of the Birthplace of Route 66 Festival but also as a tribute to the late Steve Cash, one of the Daredevil founders who passed last year.
“We are very appreciative for this opportunity to revisit this special night for the band and the Birthplace of Route 66 Festival. We hope everyone enjoys the show and smiles when they see our lost brother, Steve Cash, having a blast playing his heart out for the crowd,” Daredevils manager Dwight Glenn said in a statement.
The show, being called the “We Dare You To Stay Home” concert, will take place on Friday, September 4, at 7 p.m. The concert will stream live on the Birthplace of Route 66 Festival website, and the City’s cable channels: Mediacom 15.1 & 80, and AT&T UVerse channel 99.
The band’s biggest song was “Jackie Blue,” which came within an eyelash or two of being a No. 1 single in 1975. The band has been in semi-retirement for years, but surviving members reunite occasionally for shows, especially in its hometown of Springfield. That includes shows scheduled for Dec. 26-27 at the historic Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville, Illinois.
(Image of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils in 1975 via Wikipedia)