Want a New Take on a Skynyrd Song? These Bands Have You “Covered”!

With the Legends themselves coming to the Ford Center in Evansville on August 1^st, we would like to make mention of those who have been affected by Lynyrd Skynyrd enough to cover their songs. Covering a song is very risky as the artist could easily offend fans of the original if they do not do it justice. Listed below are a few of those artists who have braved the challenge of re-doing a Lynyrd Skynyrd song and succeeded!

With Lynyrd Skynyrd being southern rock, already it was not a huge leap to re-imagine a track with a country spin on it. Still there are the risks of deviating too far from the original or perhaps not changing it enough to make it a different artist’s take. Jamey Johnson did an excellent job of putting his country spin on this Lynyrd Skynyrd classic. He keeps the song strongly rooted to the original with just enough of his personal style mixed in to create something truly enjoyable.

On the rock side of the equation, we have Shinedown covering “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. I’m not sure that the band could have challenged tracks like “Free Bird” and come out ahead, but this track works perfectly for them. Shinedown vocalist, Brent Smith, does a great job at using his powerful vocal chords to bring the power of rock to the song without completely changing its identity. This version of the song is fun, vibrant, and just as powerful as it was 40 years ago.

Creating one of the more popular covers of a Skynyrd song must have been a major task for Metallica. Their thrash metal background does not exactly seem set up to host the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd, but somehow everything came together and created something people still remember years later. Stepping outside of their comfort zone, Metallica did a great job keeping the song faithful to the original. This is not to say it lacks their personal artistic impression, as it definitely has Metallica’s style at the heart of it.

See Lynyrd Skynyrd live at the Ford Center with special guest Eric Paslay on August 1^st 2013 – brought to you by sponsors: Dale’s Harley Davidson and Bobby Wilson Furniture! This is an amazing opportunity to see one of modern music’s most influential bands.

Tickets are on sale Friday, June 7, 2013 at 10 a.m. for Lynyrd Skynyrd with special guest Eric Paslay at the Ford Center in Evansville, IN. General tickets will be available at ticketmaster.com and at the Ford Center ticket office. Tickets are $43.50, $46.50 and $53.00 plus applicable service charges