Tickets on sale for tribute to Hank Williams at Poway Center for the Performing Arts

Take a trip down memory lane into country music history with “Hank and My Honky Tonk Heroes,” performing at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3 at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts, 15498 Espola Road.

This tribute to country music legend Hank Williams features his music, as well as music from singers who influenced and who were influenced by Hank Williams, including Jimmie Rodgers, Roy Acuff, Ernest Tubbs, The Carter Family, George Jones, Alan Jackson and more.

Tickets range from $39 to $54 and are available by calling the box office at 858-748-0505 or online at www.powaycenter.com.

For an additional $28, you can enjoy dinner on the plaza prior to the show. Catered by Cafe Merlot, the menu for “Hank and My Honky Tonk Heroes” includes corn and bacon chowder shooters; seafood and sausage jambalaya served over dirty rice; country-fried steak with hush puppies and gravy; bayou salad; corn bread; and Bourbon Street pecan slices with cinnamon whipped cream for dessert. Dinner on the plaza tickets include one complimentary beverage (wine, beer or non-alcoholic).

The show stars Obie award-winning performer Jason Petty, who has been playing Hank Williams in shows since 1996, when he performed in “Lost Highway” at the Grand Ole Opry.

Petty said he was inspired to create “Hank and My Honky Tonk Heroes” after spending years playing Williams and listening to stories about him at the Grand Ole Opry.

“I’d been doing this role for eight years, and I’d become friends with (the Grand Ole Opry) stars and musicians who had been friends with Hank,” said Petty. “I wrote down the stories they told me about him to remember them.”

Friends suggested he should write a book about Williams, but Petty said he decided to write a show instead. “It’s about how Hank changed country music. He sort of filtered it down to what is now known as modern country. He died when he was 29, but he left an amazing influence on Elvis Presley, Ray Charles and tons of other people.”

Petty said that in between performing songs, he talks about Williams’s life. “I talk about how the songs were written. I pay homage to the people he influenced. A lot of the stories are fun. His life was filled with a lot of joy and humor.”

“Hank and My Honky Tonk Heroes” is the first of five shows Petty has written, which also includes a show on singing cowboys, a Christmas show and a Hank Williams and Patsy Cline show. His most recent show is “Classic Nashville Roadshow,” which performs top-25 country music songs. Between October and December, Petty will be touring all five shows.

“It’s fun. I feel really blessed to do what I want to do, raise my family in Tennessee in my hometown, tour and get paid for it,” said Petty.