Members of the Burning River Ramblers said they had to return to their old stomping grounds after releasing their most recent album, To Color a Fool. It was inevitable, considering they met at Ohio University years ago.
The band, which describes themselves as “eclectic,” will be returning to the stage at The Union Bar and Grill, 18 W. Union St., on Thursday for an official CD release show. They will play homage to the place they say raised their music and pay tribute to their Athens fans — lovingly dubbed “the famblers.”
After spending nine months working on To Color a Fool and recording at Suma Recording Studio, a studio where The Black Keys have also recorded, band members said they’re eager to return to Athens.
“We had a Cleveland CD release on the 15th (of August), but Athens is really what brought us all together, and the experiences we had — and the way it shaped us — made it appropriate to have a CD release there once the school year got going,” said Dave Young, keyboardist.
Young said this will be roughly the band’s 30th time performing at The Union, and the show is expected to be successful. Two bands, The Wholehearted Halfwits and Fathers of the Revolution, will be opening before the Burning River Ramblers take the stage.
“Were expecting a pretty good draw, because between the two opening bands it’s a wide range of fans,” he said. “Between The Wholehearted Halfwits, which will draw freshmen and high schoolers, and the Fathers of the Revolution, which have a pretty solid following of their own as juniors at OU, so between all of us we can pack the place.”
Doors will open at 8 p.m., and fans are welcome to stop by and catch up with the band.
“We’ll be there if anyone wants to talk with us or grab a drink,” said Zach Catania, lead guitarist and vocalist. “We’re going to be selling all kinds of merch, too — T-shirts, bumper stickers, which is a first for us so I’m really excited about that.”
Tickets are $10 at the door, but Catania said concertgoers are paying for the copy of To Color a Fool that they’ll receive at the show.
Ultimately, though, the band members said they most look forward to seeing familiar faces while they’re in Athens for the weekend.
“It’ll be good to see the ‘famblers,’” Young said. “The people who sing along to all the words they know and make sure the bar is successful.”
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