Submitted photoMoe Bandy is playing a benefit concert April 8 at the Temple Theatre as a fundraiser for his hometown theater.

Country music legend Moe Bandy is coming home to Meridian to headline a fundraiser concert April 8 for the Temple Theatre.

Bandy, whose hits include “Bandy The Rodeo Clown,” “Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life” and “Till I’m Too Old To Die Young,” was born in Meridian in 1944 and lived here until he was 6 years old, when his family moved to San Antonio, Texas.

The singer said his long love affair with country music started when he was young.

“My grandfather worked on the railroad with Jimmie Rodgers,” Bandy said during a recent phone interview from Branson, Missouri. “Back when I was a kid, the only music I heard other than gospel was Jimmie Rodgers and I think that inspired me a lot. My family lived on 22nd Avenue Heights and I was born at the old hospital there. I remember Meridian very well.”

Bandy said he was delighted when he was asked to do a benefit show for the Temple. The iconic venue is full of his family’s memories, he said.

“I remember my mother talking about winning a talent contest in The Temple Theatre when she was a little girl– she played piano and sang,” he said. “So that theater is very special to me. And we did all those Jimmie Rodgers shows there – Man what a time that was, I’ll never forget those shows. So I jumped all over it because that theater is very special to me. It has a lot of memories and history with my family…it’s a great venue. Hope they always keep it there. It’s just part of Meridian.” 

Bandy is scheduled to take the stage at 8:30. He said the crowd can expect a good time.

“It’s going to be a great, fun time,” he said. “I do my records – I have a great band. I do a lot of comedy and jokes and I do some impressions of other entertainers; I play off the audience and, boy, I love to entertain the audience. I hope we just pack the place out, and help to continue restoring the place. I think it’s a great cause for Meridian.”

Bandy’s set will be preceded at 7 p.m. by Davis County, a South-Mississippi-based country group, and an acoustic songwriters set featuring Leigh Reynolds, Scott McQuaig, Britt Gully and Jacky Jack White. Bandy will take the stage at 8:30.

Tickets are available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday at the Temple Theatre or by calling 601-693-5353 or 214-938-5656 during office hours.