Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist says Neon Nights at Clay's Park is 'going to be nothing but fun'

Guitarist Rickey Medlocke said he will keep playing the songs of the legendary Lynyrd Sknyrd as long as he can.

"I promised (late founding member) Gary (Rossington) when I got back with the band (that) I'd be there until the last note of Free Bird," said Medlocke, a member of Lynyrd Skynyrd since 1996. "And that's my intention, that's what I'm planning. “

"Gary expressed that he never wanted the music to die out or just be heard now and then on the radio and in commercials − he wanted the band to continue the legacy."

Medlocke had known Rossington since Lynyrd Skynyrd's early days. He was a band member from 1971 to 1972 before the iconic Southern rock group released its debut album and went on to chart a slew of hit songs. Tragedy then struck when band members Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines died in a plane crash in 1977. Other band members were seriously injured.

Medlocke and Lynyrd Skynyrd will be honoring the band and its storied history when they headline the second night of the Neon Nights Music Festival Aug. 10 at Clay's Resort Jellystone Park in Lawrence Township. Melding blues, country and rock, Lynyrd Skynyrd's hit songs include "Sweet Home Alabama," "Simple Man," "That Smell," "Gimme Three Steps," "What's Your Name" and "Call Me The Breeze."

Neon Nights begins Aug. 9 with country artists Trace Adkins and Brad Paisley. Also performing on Aug. 10 will be ZZ Top.

"That's going to be a good festival," Medlocke said. "When you've got that kind of lineup, it's going to be nothing but fun."

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For more festival details on camping and to purchase tickets, go to https://www.theneonnights.com/ .

During a recent 20-minute phone interview, Medlocke , 74, was insightful and impassioned while talking about his love for Lynyrd Skynyrd and why the band has kept touring following Rossington's death last year at age 71. Rossington was the band's last surviving founding member.

"It hit me so hard," Medlocke said. "It has taken me over a year and a half to even work through it. I miss the guy. ... We've got a great guitar player in Damon Johnson, and he plays tribute to Gary every night as close as anybody can possibly do it, but I miss Gary. Him and me had a mutual spirit and camaraderie on the stage. That was just incredible."

Is Medlocke an original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd?

Medlocke was a member of Lynyrd Skynyrd in the early '70s before leaving and rejoining the band Blackfoot as a singer-songwriter and guitarist and scoring the hit song, "Train, Train."

But there's debate over whether Medlocke was an original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

"First of all, I feel very blessed and fortunate that I've been able to be with two great, legendary bands," he said. But "some say, 'No, he wasn't original,' and others argue the point that, 'Yes, he is (an original member),' but here's the bottom line: The point is I did have original contracts that said my name ... under the band name of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

"Not long before Gary passed, he made a video stating that they always considered me an original guy, and they were trying to put a stop to the arguing."

Should Medlocke be in the rock hall with Lynyrd Skynyrd?

Formed in Jacksonville, Florida, and powered by three guitar players, Lynyrd Skynyrd was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Nine members were placed in the hall − Rossington, Allen Collins, Artimus Pyle, Billy Powell, Bob Burns, Ed King, Leon Wilkeson, Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines.

"They felt like my connection with the band and my lineage with the band didn't warrant me to be inducted with the group," Medlocke said. "I actually took that as a slap in the face because look, I respected all those guys that got inducted, (but) Steve Gaines, he was inducted and he was with them for a year.

"... You can't go back and undo it, but maybe one day, they'll feel that maybe they made a mistake, that maybe I should go in and be put in with them ... but time will tell."

Lynyrd Skynyrd has fans from 8 to 80

Joining Medlocke in Lynyrd Skynyrd's lineup is lead singer Johnny Van Zant, the younger brother of the band's co-founder and original vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, along with Damon Johnson, Mark “Sparky” Matejka, Michael Cartellone, Keith Christopher, Peter Keys, Carol Chase and Stacy Michelle.

Together they play songs that have become classic rock and jukebox staples.

"When you look out in the audience and you see that the fans stretch from 8 to 80 in age, we're four, almost five generations deep in a fan base," Medlocke said. "With ... the major part of of them probably being 30 to 50 (years old). It does tell you and it absolutely speaks to that this band and the music speaks very loudly to why the people still come out to this day."

And the current group doesn't plan on stopping.

"We're going to be here a lot longer," said Medlocke, who released the single "Never Run Out Of Road" this year as the Rickey Medlocke Band. "I find it cool (because) there's very few of the classic (rock) bands left anymore. You've got The Rolling Stones now and us and ZZ Top. AC/DC is back out touring.

"… So when those bands come around to the area where you are, make damn sure you come out to see them because there's going to come a time when they're not around. I'm working my way to my 80s now. Knock on wood, hopefully, I'll get there, and this is what I'm always going to do is play music because there's nothing else I want to do."

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If you go

What: Neon Nights Music Festival

Who and when: Darryl Worley, Pat Tillis, Trace Adkins and Brad Paisley on Aug. 9. The Kentucky Headhunters, BlackHawk, ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd on Aug. 10. Concerts start at 4 p.m. each day.

Where: Clay's Resort Jellystone Park, 12951 Patterson St. NW in Lawrence Township.

Tickets: Single day passes cost $109.99 and two-day passes $169.99. One-day pit passes cost an additional $119.99 and two-day pit passes are $199.99 (regular tickets are still needed). Tickets and campsites can be purchased at https://www.theneonnights.com/ .

Reach Ed at ebalint@gannett.com . On X (formerly Twitter) @ebalintREP and Instagram at ed_balint .

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist says Neon Nights at Clay's Park is 'going to be nothing but fun'