Actor, singer John Schneider headlines upcoming event at drive-in

He’s been Bo Duke on “The Dukes of Hazzard,” Jonathan Kent on “Smallville,” a musician and an independent filmmaker, and next weekend, John Schneider will be the headliner at Rock ’N’ Roll Drive-In in Blomeyer.

Schneider’s event will include both a concert and a movie Sunday, said Sarah Estes, executive marketing director for the drive in.

It’s a different kind of event, and one that caps off a weekend of concerts, featuring country music singer Maggie Rose on Halloween Night.

Ever since the drive-in opened earlier this month, Estes said, people have been asking about when concerts will begin.

Halloween, it turns out.

“We want a variety of artists here, and we’re trying to make that happen,” Estes said.

Schneider said he’s glad to be talking about drive-ins again.

“I think the resurgence and new popularity of this wonderful way to watch movies, now with concerts and other events, I think the younger generation will love it,” he said by phone Friday.

“I know people who make movies and who do music, but I don’t know anybody other than my wife and I who do both,” Schneider said of partner Alicia Allain.

This is the first event like this Schneider and Allain are doing, he said.

The movie, “Christmas Cars,” is a tribute to the show that made Schneider famous: “The Dukes of Hazzard,” and is based on real events.

And he’ll be performing before the movie, with Cody McCarver (formerly of Confederate Railroad), and the Stars ‘N’ Bars Band.

The concert stage will be right there with the movie screen, so people can come in when gates open at 4 p.m. Sunday and enjoy the show, then the movie, he said.

Schneider said he’s so excited to be physically at the drive-in.

“A lot of my traveling music friends, they say they’re coming to the drive-in, but they’re really not,” he said. “They’re doing a concert on the screen from somewhere else. To me, that’s not really coming to your drive-in, your town. That’s campaigning from your basement.”

Of the concert and movie combination, Schneider said, “It’s a pretty forward-thinking new-old model.”

Schneider said he remembers pictures of Elvis Presley early in his career doing live shows from the flatbed of a truck, and that’s not far off from how this event will play out.

“I think it’s going to work really well, and I think the crowd will love it,” Schneider said. “My big hope is, after the pandemic is over, that drive-ins continue to be at least one way people go see movies.”

A Halloween concert featuring country music singer Maggie Rose, with guest Jesse Hammock, will have gates open at 5 p.m., Hammock at 6 p.m. and Rose at 7:30 p.m., followed by the 2018 film “Halloween” at 9 p.m.

On Sunday, VIP gates for the John Schneider-headlined event open at 1 p.m. for a meet and greet. General admission gates open at 4 p.m., concert with Cody McCarver starts at 5:30 p.m., Schneider at 6 p.m., and the film “Christmas Cars” begins at 7 p.m.

For tickets and more information, visit www.rocknrolldrivein.com.