Guess who is opening for Chuck Berry at The Pageant in March

From left: Rugs guitarist Eric Schuchmann and singer Matt Dampier

How is this for a “worlds collide moment:” Not only is rock ‘n’ roll demigod Chuck Berry coming to Missouri to play The Pageant in St. Louis in March, but a Springfield-based band will be his opening act. The Rugs are scheduled to perform with Berry on March 27, according to the band’s guitarist and co-songwriter, Eric Schuchmann. 

The Rugs were a fixture in the Springfield music scene for a few years before singer Matt Dampier moved to Kansas City for teaching work, but the band still plays in the city periodically. It also nets an occasional show in St. Louis, where, Schuchmann says, the group has been fortunate enough to get some good connections. The Pageant show with Berry will be The Rugs’ third St. Louis concert since the band’s inception and its first paired with a music legend. Given Berry’s penchant for playing his shows with guest musicians from the city he is in, we can’t help but wonder what the odds are of seeing some of The Rugs’ members onstage with Berry later in the night. It’s unlikely, but hey, it was unlikely that a Springfield band would beat out St. Louis acts to open for a national tourer at a St. Louis club, so one can always hope.

The show is listed by The Pageant as being all-ages with general-admission seating for $30 or $35 for a spot in the reserved balcony, with a $2 surcharge for anyone under 21. You can order your tickets by clicking on the strangely colored words you’re reading right now.