Hello, and welcome to another Hodag Country Festival Flashback! As we count down to the 2023 Hodag Country Festival in Rhinelander, let’s look back at the artists who performed at past festivals.
This week, we go back to the 2016 festival, the last time the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band appeared. This legendary band goes back to the late sixties, and is best known for songs like Mr. Bojangles from 1970, and Fishin’ In The Dark from 1987.
Their first appearance at the Hodag Country Festival was in 1992, as they were promoting the album Not Fade Away. Their next stop in Rhinelander was in 1999, also to promote an album, Bang, Bang, Bang. During that period, one of the principal members of the original lineup, John McEuen, was not in the band, as he had left in 1986 to pursue a solo career. McEuen returned to what was then The Dirt Band in 2001.
Mike Michalak from The Morning Hodag interviewed McEuen prior to the band’s performance in 2016.
McEuen would later leave the band again in late 2017.