Authenticity is one of the many things that people can expect when “Rockin’ at the Roxy” hits town at 2 p.m. Sunday.

“Buddy and Hank Rockin’ at the Roxy” will be a tribute show, performed by Johnny Rogers playing Buddy Holly and Jim Blair playing Hank Williams.

“As Hank Williams and the Drifting Cowboys, we like to keep the same music, dress, equipment used in those times,” said Blair, aka Hank Williams. “We even have Nudie suits that were made by Hank’s tailor, Manuel  Cuevas, who worked for Nudie Rodeo Tailors. We play parts of the radio show that Hank did. We have the same type and color guitar that Hank played the early ’50s. We’ve tried to make everything as authentic as we could.”

The night will be split into two parts. The first half will feature Hank Williams and the Drifting Cowboys. Blair and his band will be performing crowd favorites such as “Hey, Good Lookin,” “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.”

“We’re the only group that I know of, that has both Hank Williams and the Drifting Cowboys,” Blair said. “Most tributes will only have Hank Williams, but not the full band. This is part of what makes this show so unique.”

Musicians portraying the Drifting Cowboys are lead guitarist Virgil Bonham, doghouse bass player Clifford Parrett, drummer Cory Wyatt, steel guitarist Mickey Flatt and fiddler Dana Hazzard.

With a mother like Grand Ole Opry and Oklahoma Hall of Fame inductee Ramona Reed, it was no surprise that Blair grew up with an appreciation for classic country music.

Blair played in his band when he was 12, and since has played all over the world.

New Year’s of 2002, Blair did his first tribute to Hank Williams, but it wasn’t until he portrayed Hank Williams in “Lost Highway,” a play for Muskogee Little Theatre, that he really worked to learn the mannerisms and the way of Hank Williams.

“And that’s when I knew I didn’t want to stop,” he said.

 The second half will feature Rogers as he plays Buddy Holly, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and many other rock ’n’ roll icons.

Rogers wanted nothing to do with music, even when his dad bought him a guitar, until he heard the first few seconds of “Rave On.”

“It was the first Billy Holly song I had ever heard,” Rogers said. “I went to the record store and bought his album. I saw his glasses and knew I had to get a pair just like them.”

Rogers said the Roxy is the perfect venue for the concert.

“It’s easier to capture the sound in a smaller theater,” Rogers said. “We try to keep the look and the sound as close to that of the time period as we can.”

Rogers said his favorite part about performing is seeing younger faces in the crowd.

“You always see the older crowd, the ones who grew up around that time, but then you see the younger ones,” he said. “The ones that were dragged there by their grandparents. They try to act like they’re not having a good time, but then they always end up having fun.”

If you go



WHAT: Rockin’ the Roxy, Johnny Rogers as Buddy Holly and Hankerin’ 4 Hank as Hank Williams and His Drifting Cowboys.

WHERE: The Roxy, 220 West Okmulgee.

WHEN: 2 p.m. Sunday.

ADMISSIONS: $15 in advance or $20 at the door.

ETC.: Tickets available at Muskogee Civic Center, John Michaels Music, www.hankerin4hank.com or johnnyrogersband.com.

INFORMATION: Tracy Blair at (918) 260-8872 or email tannblair@yahoo.com. Also, visit www.hankerin4hank.com or www.gigsalad.com/johnbruce.