Montgomery Gentry, featuring Eddie Montgomery, hits Backseat Events next Friday

Eddie Montgomery brings the Montgomery Gentry songbook to Winchester's 1,200-capacity Backseat Events on Friday, November 6.

Some country songs were written to be shouted back at the stage by a room full of people who know every word. Eddie Montgomery has a catalog full of them, and next Friday he brings it to Winchester.

Montgomery Gentry, featuring Eddie Montgomery, plays Backseat Events on Friday, November 6, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $40 to $80 through the venue's Tixr page, which bills the night as "Hell Yeah: Montgomery Gentry featuring Eddie Montgomery Live." The show was announced October 20, so this is a quick turnaround: under three weeks from announcement to stage, and less than a week from today.

The "featuring" is there for a reason. Montgomery Gentry was a duo, and Troy Gentry died on September 8, 2017, at 50, in a helicopter crash in Medford, New Jersey, hours before the two were due to perform there. Montgomery chose to keep going. As he told Rolling Stone at the time, getting back on the road without his partner was hard, but he said music was the biggest healing tool he had. Gentry's widow, Angie, told him Troy would want him to carry on.

He started with *Here's to You*, the album the two had finished recording just before the accident, and a tour that launched in January 2018. Those shows mixed the duo's hits with songs from the new record, in Gentry's honor. That's been the shape of the show ever since: the Montgomery Gentry songbook, delivered by the half of the duo who's still here to sing it.

Montgomery decided to keep the band going, in keeping with what he thought Gentry would have wanted.

For Shenandoah Valley fans, that means a Friday night of songs many of them grew up on, in a room built for exactly this kind of show. Backseat Events, at 114 Full House Drive, holds 1,200, with a large main floor and a VIP mezzanine that has its own bars and seating. The calendar leans hard toward country and rock. It has recently hosted acts like Aaron Tippin, Struggle Jennings and The Travelin' McCourys, alongside tribute nights and comedy. Most shows are general admission, so the floor fills up with people who came to stand and sing.

It's also a better deal than the drive to a big-city amphitheater. An 8 p.m. Friday start, a room this size and a top ticket of $80 make it an easy night out.

If you're going, pick your tier early. With barely a week between now and the show, Backseat's mezzanine is the place to be if you'd rather watch the floor sing than join it.

Nearly a decade after Gentry's death, Montgomery is still out there, singing the songs they made together. Winchester gets its turn on November 6.

Sources: Backseat Events – Hell Yeah: Montgomery Gentry featuring Eddie Montgomery Live (Tixr) (tixr.com); Eddie Montgomery on the Challenge of Touring Without Troy Gentry (Rolling Stone) (rollingstone.com); Montgomery Gentry to play 1st tour since Troy Gentry's death (NewsChannel 5) (newschannel5.com); EXCLUSIVE: Eddie Montgomery talks Troy Gentry's death, upcoming tour (Dakota News Now) (dakotanewsnow.com); Backseat Events venue (AXS) (axs.com)