BY DANI TIETZ
dani@sjodaily.com
Hillbilly Deluxe is ready to welcome spectators to the Oakwood fireworks show on July 4.
The band, which has been together for six years, will cover new country hits from 6 to 9 p.m. at Oakwood Park.
Oakwood native and Hillbilly Deluxe bass player Jon Foley said he’s excited to be performing before one of the best Fourth of July celebrations in the area.
“It’s the best place I could ever think of to play on the Fourth of July,” Foley said. “I love this town. I always have.
“The fireworks are spectacular every year.”
Foley’s family, which derived from the Hatfields of Kentucky, moved to Oakwood in 1913. The Foley family enjoyed performing music.
“My father was performing in Green Bay, Wis., the night I was born,” Jon Foley said. “He was a road musician and a tavern owner.
“Music was played in my house 24 hours a day,” Foley said. “Either it was being played on the radio or my dad played the guitar and sang or my mom played the guitar and sang.”
Foley joined Hillbilly Deluxe a year ago, but he said his favorite part of being in the band is being with his lifelong friends.
“I love the fact that four out of five of us go back 30 years,” he said. “We’ve grown into middle age together.”
Guitarist Ryan Towning graduated with Foley from Oakwood High School in 1984. Other band members include lead singer Troy Pate, guitarist Mike Knoblett and drummer Tim Farren.
