It’s time for a Champagne Jam!

Atlanta Rhythm Section is headlining the River Town Days concert on Friday, May 8, beginning at 8 p.m.

The popular southern rock group from Doraville, Ga., formed in 1970. They gained widespread popularity in the mid ’70s and early ’80s with hits like Imaginary Lover, So Into You and Champagne Jam.

They have been a mainstay in the music industry ever since, recording albums, writing songs and playing live performances all across the country. In 1996, the group was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.

The concert will take place in the Performing Arts Building at the Earle May Boat Basin.

Evergreen will kick off the night’s festivities at 6:30 p.m., with Atlanta Rhythm Section taking the stage at 8 p.m.

The group’s music

The Atlanta Rhythm Section has been part of the Southern Rock scene for more than 30 years. Their signature sound has produced two Platinum and four Gold Albums as well as six Top 20 hits.

With 15 albums of outstanding songwriting and performances, The Atlanta Rhythm Section represents all the good things the phrase “classic rock” implies.

Often described as a more radio-friendly version of Lynyrd Skynyrd or the Allman Brothers, the Atlanta Rhythm Section was one of many Southern rock bands to hit the upper reaches of the charts during the late ’70s.

The group’s first few albums failed to generate much chart action, their record company began to put pressure on the quintet to deliver a single that would break them nationally.

The demand worked—the Atlanta Rhythm Section scored a Top Ten single, “So Into You,” on their next release, 1976’s A Rock and Roll Alternative, which was the group’s first album to reach gold certification.

But this wouldn’t be their commercial peak, as they scored the highest charting album of their career in 1978. To keep up their high profile, the Atlanta Rhythm Section soon became one of the hardest touring bands of the entire Southern rock genre (including a performance at the White House for then-president Jimmy Carter).