'Sweetheart Of The Rodeo' Tour Coming To Sandy Springs

SANDY SPRINGS, GA — To celebrate the 50th anniversary of their groundbreaking album, "Sweetheart of the Rodeo," Byrds co-founders Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman will perform the album in its entirety and tell the stories that brought the album to life.

The tour will make an appearance at 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21 at Byers Theater at the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center. Tickets are now on sale for the show, and can be accessed by clicking here.

Along with songs from the album, McGuinn and Hillman also sing other favorites from their long recording careers. The pair will be joined on stage for the tour by country legends Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives. Stuart himself plays the famous 1954 Fender Telecaster originally owned by legendary country-rock pioneer Clarence White, a performer on Sweetheart of the Rodeo.

McGuinn, Hillman, and Stuart have also recorded an exclusive one-hour “Sweetheart of the Rodeo” 50th Anniversary radio special for SiriusXM Outlaw Country that premiered on Friday, July 13. Listen to excerpts from the wide-ranging conversation where they discuss the infamous night the Byrds performed at the Grand Ole Opry in 1968 and the addition of Gram Parsons to the band’s lineup.

“On March 9, 1968, Roger McGuinn and I, along with many fantastic musicians, began recording the Sweetheart of the Rodeo album at Columbia Studios in Nashville,” Chris Hillman said.” It was truly a pivotal moment in our lives, taking a turn toward the music we always felt a strong kinship with. We are honored that it has left a strong, long lasting impression on country and rock music. To celebrate this special time with Roger, Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives is such a blessing on this, the 50th anniversary of Sweetheart of the Rodeo.”

Sweetheart of the Rodeo is widely considered to be one of the most influential country rock albums of all time and credited with giving rise to the genre. In 2003, the album was ranked #117 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums.

"Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Sweetheart of the Rodeo with a group of my favorite musicians is an honor," Roger McGuinn said. "I can’t wait to be on stage with Chris Hillman, Marty Stuart and those Fabulous Superlatives! We’re all looking forward to taking the fans through the back pages of the recording. The concert will include songs that led up to that ground breaking trip to Nashville and all the songs from the album.”

Image via Alysse Gafkjen