Music

Dave, band to land in NLR

Dave Matthews performs during the Farm Aid 2013 concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013.
Dave Matthews performs during the Farm Aid 2013 concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013.

If the Dave Matthews Band was an automobile, it would qualify for the antique auto license plate (at least in Arkansas), due to the band's quarter century of existence.

Of course, the band, despite its relative longevity, hasn't been around nearly as long as some of the recent acts -- Paul McCartney and Def Leppard -- that have stopped by Verizon Arena.

Dave Matthews Band

8 p.m. Wednesday, Verizon Arena, East Broadway and Interstate 30, North Little Rock

Tickets: $45.50, $55, $75

(800) 745-3000

ticketmaster.com

And while it was once traditional for bands to release new music before starting a tour, none of the above-mentioned groups bothered to do so. Matthews and his band decided to mark their 25 years as a unit with 46 shows in 2016, and then take a break from touring in 2017.

In amassing a career and a fan base that have earned DMB comparisons with the Grateful Dead, Matthews and band have not exactly concentrated their efforts in central Arkansas, with only o̶n̶e̶ ̶a̶p̶p̶e̶a̶r̶a̶n̶c̶e two appearances* in the area, a show under the stars at Dickey-Stephens Park in September 2009 and a performance in July 2003 at what was then called Alltel Arena. No matter, the band's fans, like Deadheads, are known for traveling to see the group, rather than waiting for them to amble into the Little Rock area.

A native of South Africa, Matthews was a bartender in Charlottesville, Va., (home of the University of Virginia) when his musical talents began to be noticed. Singer-songwriter-guitarist Matthews found kindred spirits in bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer and backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley, violinist, was soon added.

Moore died in August 2008 from injuries sustained in an ATV accident. Jeff Coffin, who had been a member of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, took Moore's spot on saxophone, and two additional musicians are now full-time touring members of the band: guitarist Tim Reynolds (a longtime collaborator and sometimes duo partner with Matthews) and trumpeter Rashawn Ross.

The band has sold more than 20 million tickets in 25 years, plus a combined 38 million CDs and DVDs. Six of their studio albums debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, making them the first group in history to do so. The most recent DMB studio album, Away From the World, came out in 2012.

Part of the band's success has been attributed to its policy of allowing fans to record shows, and the group, like the Grateful Dead, releases many of its live shows itself, far more than its release of studio recordings.

Charity work has long been a special focus for Matthews and the band. He helped found and continues to work with Farm Aid with Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young. The band has done benefits for Habitat for Humanity and survivors of disasters, including the tsunami in Sri Lanka, Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and Haiti's earthquake.

Touring this year began Feb. 4 in San Francisco and will conclude Sept. 4 in Washington state.

Style on 05/17/2016

*CORRECTION: The Dave Matthews Band performed in July 2003 in North Little Rock at what was then called Alltel Arena. This story omitted this concert date.

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