Big & Rich to take Wetumpka stage

Big & Rich is a name synonymous with country radio, churning out multiple hits since their debut album a decade ago.

Now, the band looks to etch their name into the short list of acts that have played the entertainment stage of Wind Creek Wetumpka.

Before they play Friday show, here are some facts to know about the duo.

•They came together from other acts.

Big Kenny Alphin and John Rich already had their musical feet wet before they formed the act that everyone knows today. Alphin was a solo artist and Rich was a founding member of the band Lonestar.

“When Kenny and I were first considering doing music together some 15 years ago, I can recall like it was yesterday him saying, ‘Man, we like two individual planets — wouldn’t it be awesome to collide and smash the universe together,’ ” Rich said in a news release. “We definitely felt that creative gravitational pull from the beginning and I think it continues to translate into the music.”

•They have released solo material since the band’s inception.

Between 2009 and 2011, both Alphin and Rich released solo albums. Alphin released “The Quiet Times of a Rock and Roll Farm Boy” and “Big Kenny’s Love Everybody Traveling Musical Medicine Show Mix Tape, Vol. 1” while Rich released “Son of a Preacher Man” and the EPs “For the Kids” and “Rich Rocks.”

•They have set out on their own.

After working with Warner Bros. Nashville, the band’s 2014 album “Gravity” was self-released on Big & Rich Records.

“We now have the freedom to write songs, call our own shots and put every ounce of our guts, soul and DNA into music we can have complete creative control over — from creation to release schedule,” Alphin said in a news release. “We can bring the best gunslingers to the shoot out and know everyone is 100 percent committed to our success — from making the music to getting it out there to our audience and it’s a great place to be. As John says — we’re like wild horses that don’t do good in a stall — we’d rather be running the wild range.”

•They are frequent collaborators.

Big & Rich won’t be alone in Wetumpka as they will be joined by Cowboy Troy, who was had songs with the band in the past. The country rapper appears with Big & Rich in a reworked version of “Comin’ To Your City” that has been used as the intro song to ESPN’s College GameDay. The band has also worked with Gretchen Wilson, Martina McBride and John Legend.

•The Wetumpka crowd is in for a good time.

The band has talked passionately about their live performances.

“It seems like when you put John and Kenny together and we become Big & Rich, it’s like Clark Kent walking into the phone booth and coming out a superman,” Rich said in a news release. “We can’t explain it. It’s like a chemical reaction between Kenny and me on stage, something you can feel there. It’s funny to think about but it’s really true, we walk out on stage and start laying into this thing, the energy goes back and forth between us and the crowd and it’s palpable.”

WANT TO GO?

WHAT: Big & Rich with special guest Cowboy Troy

WHEN: 9 p.m. Friday

WHERE: Wind Creek Wetumpka, 100 River Oaks Drive

ADMISSION: $45 to $85 plus service fees

MORE INFORMATION: bigandrich.com