CHARLIE DANIELS BAND TO HEAD FIRST PERRY PARK CENTER CONCERT

PERRYVILLE -- The Charlie Daniels Band will headline the first-ever concert to be held at the Perry Park Center.

The band known for such hits as "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" and "The South's Gonna Do It Again" and for hosting the annual Volunteer Jam will perform June 16.

The Charlie Daniels Band is known for high-test country rock powered by Daniels' distinctive vocals and fiery fiddling. Daniels was chosen to play the first of two or three concerts to be held at the center this year, says Bob Held, the city parks and recreation director and facility manager.

"We figured he was the person who related to a lot of people in the area and would put on a really good show."

The $9.5 million center opened last May. It houses an indoor swimming pool, a walking track, racquetball courts, a weight room, aerobics room, showers, a library, a 417-seat auditorium, and a gymnasium with two basketball courts.

The concert is co-sponsored by the Perryville Parks and Recreation Department and Donze Communications. Elmo Donze said the concert is an attempt to bring new people to the center.

"We wondered how we can change the attitude toward more favorable of people who are not utilizing it," Donze said. "This is something that gets everybody's attention in a big way."

Donze has seen the Daniels band perform eight times. "I think he covers the whole spectrum, from motorcycle riders to born-again Christians," he said.

Radio station KBDZ will give anyone who buys a ticket a bag of coupons provided by local merchants.

A welcome party will be held before the concert at the pavilion across from the center. The Perryville Chamber of Commerce will dispense beer and the AmVets will sell barbecue. No beer is sold at the Perry Parks Center.

Baby-sitting will be offered during the concert, though Held said space is limited.

Tickets went on sale Saturday and are $18, $22 and $24. About 1,500 seats remain. Tickets are available at the center or by phoning (573) 547-PARK.

Opening for the Charlie Daniels band will be Crazy Eight, a band composed of local favorites Little Rock augmented with extra musicians. Members of Crazy Eight are volunteering their time.

Donze said Daniels is the first big-name country or rock performer to play Perryville in his memory.

Daniels has been in the music business a long time. In 1969 and 1970, he was one of the session players on Bob Dylan's classic album "Nashville Skyline." He organized his own band two years later.

A 1974 jam with members of the Allman Brothers Band evolved into the annual Volunteer Jam, an event that has drawn such diverse performers as Don Henley, Tammy Wynette, Little Feat, Vince Gill, Ted Nugent, Bill Monroe and Little Richard.