For nearly six decades, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has been a cornerstone of Americana music, releasing award-winning albums and beloved classics like “Mr. Bojangles” and “Fishin’ In the Dark.”

Now, band members Jim Photoglo, Bob Carpenter, Jimmie Fadden, Jeff Hanna, Jaime Hanna and Ross Holmes are embarking on their final intensive tour — and this Friday, they’ll bring the historic show to Rifle. 

Aptly named  “All the Good Times: The Farewell Tour,” the shows serve as both a tribute to years of relentless touring and a celebration of the deep connections the legendary band has formed with fans around the world. 

“It’s always good to say hi to people that we’ve played for before, and it’s nice to put a bow on this thing and thank them for all the years that they’ve supported the band and the music and come up to our shows,” Carpenter, the band’s singer and keyboardist, said. “We’re not going to be traveling 100 days a year anymore, starting next year. (We’ll play) a few shows at the beginning of the year, but we’re just not going to do 70 shows a year anymore. It’s too grueling We can’t do it, and we want to be able to do the best shows we can do.

“We just thought it was time to say goodbye to all this touring all over the country every year and take a step back,” he added. 

Carpenter has been with the GRAMMY Award-winning band for nearly its entire journey. He moved to Aspen around the same time the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band did and began playing and recording with them in the ’70s. By 1980, he officially joined the group.

“I don’t think there are many bands that have been together as long as we have that are still touring,” Carpenter said. “I think the Grateful Dead and us and probably the Stones, but those other bands haven’t toured every single year since they’ve been together. This is our 59th year on the road. 

“It’s always great to go out and play music for people,” he added. “We love it and there’s part of it that we’ll miss, I’m sure, but we’re just trying to enjoy the moment right now while we’re still out there doing it. “

After 45 years of performing with the band, Carpenter says Colorado shows have consistently stood out as some of the most memorable. 

“It’s always fun to play in Colorado. Colorado is sort of our ancestral home. We played Red Rocks a lot of the time. We played in every town in Colorado, all the way from Grand Junction to Steamboat Springs, to Colorado Springs, to Denver and Boulder — you name it, we played all over that place.

“We’re members of the Colorado Music Hall of Fame. We were inducted a bunch of years ago,” he added. “All the great memories that we have, a lot of them are from so many of the shows that we played in Colorado.”

This Friday, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band — with an opening performance by country star David Nail — will headline the Garfield County Fair and Rodeo Concert in Rifle. 

The show promises a lively, nostalgia-infused journey through the band’s catalog. The two-hour performance will feature classics like the 1970 cover of “Mr. Bojangles” through the group’s latest album — “Dirt Does Dylan,” released in 2022. 

“It’ll be a nice trip through the last six decades of our music,” Carpenter said. “We’ll try to touch on everything.”

What Carpenter looks forward to most is helping audiences relive the moments they first encountered the band’s music.

“I hope they enjoy the music, and I hope that when we play a song for them, they can remember where they were when they first heard it,” Carpenter said. “That’s a lot of what playing live music is — reminding people. People love the song, but they love it in part because it reminds them of a time and place they were when they first heard the song or when the song was a hit. 

“We’re very lucky to be doing what we do,” he added. “We’ve spent our whole life playing music and not many people can say that. We’ve managed to support our families and stay healthy. We’re very, very fortunate. That’s the biggest emotion for me, is how lucky we are.”