In a different life, maybe even in an alternate universe, Bob Carpenter could have been a handyman, working on multiple projects around the house.
Studying engineering in college for that purpose, success with music kept getting in the way, and before he knew it, Carpenter would leave school, playing here and there before ending up as a full-time member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1980.
Even if he weren’t playing music, the singer and keyboardist would have found a career where he could still perform at his fullest at the tender age of 77. It’s only when he feels he can no longer perform at his best is when he’ll finally hang it up.
It’s a sentiment he shares with his bandmates.
“We’re not going to go out on stage singing ‘Fishin’ in the Dark’ when we’re 95 years old; we refuse to do that,” Carpenter said in a phone interview. “We refuse to go out on stage and not play up to our own standards.”
That passion for their music and their fans is what is taking the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on the road for their “All the Good Times: The Farewell Tour,” which is scheduled to stop on Thursday, March 28, at The Ector Theatre, 500 N. Texas Ave.
The event will start at 7 p.m., and tickets range between $50 to a $250 VIP package with a post-show meet and greet with the band.
The tour is not the end of live performances for the band, but the end of multi-city runs.
“Part of the reason that we’re doing this farewell tour is to go around the country to as many cities as we can hit and thank the fans for supporting us,” Carpenter said.
Formed in 1966 in California, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and their nearly six decades of performing have garnered them Grammy, Country Music Association and International Bluegrass Music awards.
They’ve received recognition for their hits “Mr. Bojangles,” “Modern Day Romance” and “Long Hard Road,” as well as their three “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” albums.
The band’s latest album, released in 2022, is “Dirt Does Dylan,” a collection of Bob Dylan songs recorded in the studio right before the COVID-19 pandemic.
With an extensive collection of songs and fans spanning across generations, many can connect to a song that might transport them to a certain time in their lives.
“No matter where you were in your life, when you hear a Dirt Band song … you sort of connect to that,” Carpenter said. “And that’s what you’ll get to experience when you come to see the band.”
If you go
- What: Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
- When: 7 p.m. March 28.
- Where: The Ector Theatre, 500 N. Texas Ave.
- Cost: Tickets range from $50 to $250, and can be purchased online at tinyurl.com/37d2c2zb.
- Call: 432-653-1246 for more information.
