“How Y’all Doin’?” asked Kevin Kinney, lead singer and guitarist of Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ . The Pensacola crowd quickly shouted their reply and the group jumped headfirst into their set. Three days before 2011 descended onto the world and the Pelican dropped over an excited gathering in Downtown Pensacola, Vinyl Music Hall held their own musical fireworks display.

Returning to the Vinyl Music Hall stage and opening the night’s show were Imaginary Air Show. Manned by Todd Vilardi (vocals, guitar), Aaron Finley (vocals, guitar), Giovanni Lugo (vocals, bass), Sean Peterson (keyboards), and Brandon Warren (drums) the Pensacola group displayed the signature atmospheric musicianship that carries their sound and drives the heart of their music

Second on board were 60 Cycles of Sound. Fueled by Rodney Uberroth (vocals, guitar), Jason Holstein (bass), Jason Hurt (guitar), and Ben Bogan (drums)the group weaved their post-millennium music with another high energy performance for the Vinyl crowd.

Headlining the night’s festivities were Drivin’ N’ Cryin’. Formed in 1985, it would seem nearly impossible to fill nearly three decades worth of musical highlights into one night of music, yet the members of Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ were more than willing to tackle the task. Led by Kinney and joined by long-time friend, Tim Nielsen (bass, vocal), Dave V. Johnson (drums) and Mac Carter (guitar) the D’N’C’ brotherhood ripped through a performance that lit across their journey as one of the most highly acclaimed Georgia groups that broke onto the underground scene in the 1980’s and generated a world-wide following that, as made evident by the pre-New Year’s Eve Vinyl crowd, is still strong today.

-MLS