Three bands' worth of '70s radio at the Cannon Center tonight

Pure Prairie League, Atlanta Rhythm Section and Firefall share one bill downtown on Friday. Doors at 6, music at 7.

Somewhere in Memphis tonight there's a car with "Amie" on the stereo, someone singing the harmony a little off, and they're headed downtown. The song is about to be played live.

Pure Prairie League, Atlanta Rhythm Section and Firefall play the Cannon Center tonight, Friday, Oct 30. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the music starts at 7, according to the Cannon Center's event page. Pure Prairie League is billed at the top. Tickets are through Ticketmaster. This is the first Memphis date for Pure Prairie League in our records.

The night works because all three bands have songs nearly everyone knows. The venue's own listing names them: Pure Prairie League's "Amie," Atlanta Rhythm Section's "So Into You" and "Imaginary Lover," and Firefall's "You Are the Woman" and "Just Remember I Love You." It describes the night as country-rock, Southern rock, classic rock and soft rock, and that's a fair map of where it goes. That's three corners of the same decade on the radio, and one ticket covers all of them.

The three have shared bills before. Atlanta Rhythm Section's news page lists a string of summer dates with Firefall and Pure Prairie League, often with Orleans on the bill too. A review of one of those shows at Indian Ranch in Webster, Mass., in August describes the format. Memphis gets the three-band version. It's a long night of short sets that run straight into the choruses.

The room fits that. The Cannon Center for the Performing Arts holds 2,100, which is bigger than a club and smaller than the arenas some of these songs filled in their day. It's a seated concert hall at 255 N. Main St., so you'll hear the harmonies, and a three-part blend on "Amie" sounds right in a room built for acoustic music. A crowd that grew up on these songs will mostly want to sit, listen and sing along at the right moments.

If you're going, a few things are worth knowing. Garage parking is at 266 N. Front St., and the venue's listing puts advance parking reservations at $11.41 with taxes and fees. That's worth booking ahead on a Friday downtown. With three bands and a 7 p.m. start, the venue lists the evening running until about 11, so eat before you go or plan a late bite afterward.

Pure Prairie League goes on to Tampa–St. Petersburg in December, then Providence and Nashville, so this is the band's only stop in this part of the country until then.

Three corners of the same decade's radio, one stage, one ticket.

Know the words to "So Into You"? You'll get to sing them tonight.

Sources: Pure Prairie League, Atlanta Rhythm Section & Firefall – Cannon Center (thecannoncenter.com); Pure Prairie League, Atlanta Rhythm Section & Firefall – Live Nation (livenation.com); Atlanta Rhythm Section – News (atlantarhythmsection.com); Live Review: Pure Prairie League, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Firefall and Orleans at Indian Ranch – Geoff Wilbur (geoffwilburmusic.com); Pure Prairie League at Cannon Center – JamBase (jambase.com)