Posted on Fri, May. 02, 2008
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O.S. Faire, Biloxi concert liven up weekend
By PETE TATTERSALL
MOST-READ STORIES
Depending upon your definition of the word "rowdy," there's two interesting events this weekend that promise to live up to that description.
First up, The Rowdy Frynds Tour '08, featuring local favorites Hank Williams Jr. and Lynyrd Skynyrd, stomp it up at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum 7 p.m. Saturday.
Born in Shreveport, La., in 1949, Hank Williams Jr., son of the late, great Hank Williams, is one of the few offspring of famous musicians "to develop a career that is not only successful, but markedly different from his legendary father," according to allmusic.com. In the late '70s, Williams Jr., nicknamed Bocephus by his father when Hank Jr. was a child, "retooled his image to appeal both to outlaw country fans and rowdy Southern rockers, and his makeover worked, resulting in a string of Top 10 singles - including the number one hits 'Texas Women,' 'Dixie on My Mind,' 'All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down),' 'Honky Tonkin',' 'Born to Boogie,' 'Family Tradition' and 'Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound,'
" reports the music Web site. And, in both 1987 and 1988, Williams Jr. was named Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year.
And speaking of rowdy friends, according to allmusic.com " Lynyrd Skynyrd was the definitive Southern rock band, fusing the overdriven power of blues-rock with a rebellious Southern image and a hard rock swagger. Skynyrd never relied on the jazzy improvisations of the Allman Brothers. Instead, they were a hard-living, hard-driving rock 'n' roll band - they may have jammed endlessly on-stage, but their music remained firmly entrenched in blues, rock and country."
Among the classic rock staples the band has introduced into the national consciousness are such gems as "Free Bird," "Gimme Three Steps," "The Ballad Of Curtis Lowe" and, of course, "Sweet Home Alabama."
Admission is $23, $40.50, $60.50 and $70.50, plus Ticketmaster and/or facility fees. Tickets are available at the Coliseum box office, at ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at (228) 385-2600 or (800) 488-5252.
7th annual Ocean Springs Renaissance Faire
What could be rowdier than two riders charging their steads headlong at each other, all the while brandishing very long, wooden poles, in the hopes of unseating one another?
Such activity is run of the mill at the annual Ocean Springs Renaissance Faire, a popular staple for those with a taste of ye olde excitement and a hankering for days of yore.
Scheduled to take place 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Freedom Field (General Pershing and Porter Avenue) near downtown Ocean Springs, the family-friendly event has been nominated more than once as "one of the Top 20 Events in the Southeast," according to organizers. Not for nothing, the Renaissance Faire has also donated about $67,000 to local charities including The Boys & Girls Club of Jackson County, The Lord Is My Help, Habitat for Humanity and Samaritan Ministries and Interfaith Hospitality Network, since its inception in 2002, according to organizers.
