Billy Bob Thornton and the Boxmasters will perform Wednesday at the Lake of the Ozarks Lazy Gators for the first time.
The Boxmasters have previously opened for ZZ Top, Willy Nelson, Steve Miller and Elvis Costello and are now touring to promote their new album "In Stereo."
"You hate to say that every new record is your favorite, but you know it's kind of true. I really love this new record and I'm really glad we were able to do it and get it out in time for this new tour," guitarist and songwriter J.D. Andrew said.
The American-roots rock band inspired by British invasion music of the 1960s will play a number of original songs from their album released July 3.
"We're a band that we do all the original music so you're not going to see a band playing 'Johnny Be Good', 'Blue Suede Shoes' or 'Stairway to Heaven,'" actor, singer and songwriter Billy Bob Thornton said. "We're heavily influenced by the British Invasion and the southern California pop and rock music of the late '60s like the Beach Boys and The Byrds and things like that, so our songs generally fall into the category where you would find like Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers and that sort of thing."
Thornton, most recently know for his lead performance in the Amazon series "Goliath," has been a musical performer since long before he began his Hollywood career. Having grown up in Little Rock, Arkansas, Thornton started playing in bands as a teen and briefly worked as a roadie. After gaining a famous acting career, Thornton returned to his love of music making solo albums until he met Andrew and the pair decided to form the Boxmasters.
Andrew, who had visited the Lake of the Ozarks when he attended Kansas State University, is looking forward to returning to the area.
"In college, my guitar player, he had family friends who had a cabin on the Lake of the Ozarks, and so every summer we would go down to the lake and go skiing and you know drink beer on the lake. So that was always something I looked forward to every summer was coming down there and just having a great time," Andrew said.
Having never played at the lake, the band is excited to be playing at a venue with such an upbeat reputation.
"We're playing up tempo songs that are inspired by the '60s, you know some of them have a surf element and others are just straight up rock and roll songs, but having people get up and move with us, we really feed off of that energy so hopefully the crowd is prepared to be part of the show with us," Andrew said.
"Well from what I saw on the internet, they are," Thornton responded.
"Shady Gators is pretty wild; we're known for some way out of the box stuff," Shady Gators owner Jeremy Gorham said. "I'm excited to watch his show. I'm excited to meet him and watch his band; I think he's a perfect fit for us."
Tickets to see Billy Bob Thornton and the Boxmasters can be purchased at eventbrite.com/e/billy-bob-thorton-the-boxmasters-tickets-46151503389 or through the Shady Gator website, shadygators.com.