Photos by Andy Argyrakis

Country music will be forever indebted to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, who since 1967, have churned out one classic after the next, while also interpreting several familiar voices, along with bringing unsung artists to the attention of the masses.

In fact, the group’s latest mission is the album, “Dirt Does Dylan,” which alongside the promise of all the other major moments, resulted in a sold out City Winery for co-founding singer/guitarist Jeff Hanna, original drummer Jimmie Fadden, longtime keyboardist Bob Carpenter, plus latter era bassist Jim Photoglo (who previously wrote for the band), guitarist/vocalist Jaime Hanna (Jeff’s son) and fiddle/mandolin player Ross Holmes.

The nearly two-hour show began in Nitty Gritty territory with “Going Nowhere,” “Cosmic Cowboy” and “Long Hard Road (The Sharecropper’s Dream),” all of which found the fellas’ harmonies and rich instrumentation in mint condition.

They also added folk and bluegrass flavors to Bob Dylan’s “Girl From The North Country” and “Forever Young,” saluted Chicagoland’s late John Prine with “Grandpa Was A Carpenter,” went “Honky Tonkin’” in the tone of Hank Williams and conquered Rodney Crowell’s “Voila, An American Dream.”

The elder Hanna also recalled another Illinois connection prior to “Workin’ Man (Nowhere To Go),” which he explained was written after appearing at the inaugural Farm Aid in Champaign, the marathon fundraiser put together by Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp in 1985.

Naturally, “Mr. Bojangles” was a must and the crowd loudly sang along, while many might not have realized the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band were the first to cut “Bless The Broken Road,” led by the potent Carpenter in this instance, before it became a chart-topping staple for Rascal Flatts.

Even king of crossover country, Garth Brooks, has heaped praises on these players prior to frequently performing “Fishin’ In The Dark,” though nothing could beat the original that got most everyone to their feet.

They remained standing throughout an encore filled with the standards “I Shall Be Released,” “Will The Circle Be Unbroken?” and The Band’s “The Weight” as all of City Winery raised a glass to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band for carrying on such timeless traditions.

For additional information on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, visit NittyGritty.com.

Upcoming concert highlights at City Winery include The Little Mermen (Jul. 17); Adrian Belew (July 18-19); Colin James (Jul. 21); Vic Dibitetto (Jul. 22); Eric Benet (Jul. 23); Beatles Brunch with Phil Angotti & Friends: “A Hard Day’s Night” (Jul. 24); After 7 (Jul. 24); J. Holiday (Jul. 27); Emma-Jean Thackray (Jul. 28); We Are One X-Perience – Honoring Maze & Frankie Beverly (Jul. 29) and Syleena Johnson (Jul. 30-31). For additional details, visit CityWinery.com/Chicago.

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