Savoy Brown brings blues-rock to opera house

After postponing their last appearance at the Mauch Chunk Opera House in March due to a medical procedure, British-born guitarist Kim Simmonds is eager to get back on the road with his band, Savoy Brown.

They'll be taking the stage at 8 p.m. June 24.

Simmonds is ready to roll, challenging himself and his band to reach new heights and find even higher ground.

"Real music is hard to find," he says of the band's latest album. "If you've ever felt suffocated in the age of fakery and hype, then Savoy Brown's latest album, 'The Devil to Pay,' is a blast furnace/breath of fresh air.

"Savoy Brown is a very musical band," Simmonds says. "We're not comparing ourselves to others. We appeal to an audience who wants to hear what we are up to now, what we are rehearsing, creating as a band. I think my guys and my team is empowering me to do this."

That's what Simmonds lives for - playing for audiences who are hungry to listen for new heights in artistry - not just living off 50 years as an architect of the British blues-rock scene.

"Whether I like it or not, I think my destiny is to keep doing what I'm doing, play in clubs and theaters where people pay their hard-eared money to hear us give them 110 percent," says Simmonds.

"I had a vision, when I started the band back in 1965. The concept was to be a British version of a Chicago blues band. And the exciting thing now is, that vision is still alive."

What else is happening at the opera house?

• 8 tonight, Al Stewart

• 8 p.m., Saturday, The Hackensaw Boys with guest The Blind Owl Band

• 6:30 p.m., Sunday, 40 Story Radio Tower with musical guest Jeffrey Gaines

• 8 p.m., June 25, Who's Next

• 8 p.m., July 2, KICK, the INXS Tribute

• 8 p.m., July 8, Shockenaw Boys with the Bovine Social Club

• 8 p.m., July 9, Dancing Dream - The ABBA Experience

• 8 p.m., July 15, Willy Porter with Carmen Nickerson

• 8 p.m., July 16, Incendio

• 8 p.m., July 21, Blue Sisters

• 8 p.m., July 22, David Mayfield Parade

• 8 p.m., July 23, Craig Thatcher's "Akustiko Band." This is a fundraiser for the opera house.

• 8 p.m., July 24, 40 Story Radio Tower with musical guest The Big Fat Meanies

• 8 p.m., July 30, Bennie and the Jets

Tickets are available on the opera house website, www.mcohjt.com, by visiting Soundcheck Records in downtown Jim Thorpe from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., or by calling them at 570-325-4009. The box office is open from noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at 570-325-0249.

The facility is open from noon until 5 p.m. on show days, and tickets are available for most shows at the door at showtime.