By Colin Walsh

Bro, it would be a huge bummer if you couldn’t make it to Singletary Center Wednesday; especially if you consider yourself rad. The Beach Boys are coming to town.

In 1966, nobody would’ve batted an eye at such language, and that was thanks in large part to the music of Brian Wilson, brothers Carl and Dennis, Mike Love and Al Jardine – the group that wrote the surfer subculture into American history.

The Beach Boys are still synonymous with the 1960s pop rock musical landscape and the SoCal beach bum lifestyle that accompanied it. Just one note of “Surfin’ USA” or “I Get Around” is enough to evoke images of wavy blonde-haired dudes hanging ten on Huntington Beach in the minds of just about any age group.

In fact, the band’s infamy is what drove Alltech to bring The Beach Boys back to Kentucky for the World Equestrian Games.

“They did really well the last time we booked them to perform in Ashland, Ky.,” said Mandy Daughtery, Alltech Fortnight Festival coordinator.

“We really wanted some names that are recognizable around the world and we thought that the World Equestrian Games guests would be able to relate to…They are an act that spans generations.”

Only Mike Love and Bruce Johnston remain from the quintet’s glory days, but there should be no worries as to what songs they will be performing. Old favorites will entertain attendees, regardless of whether the feeling is one of heartfelt nostalgia or newfound pleasure.

Despite splitting apart, losing members to drug addiction and death, weathering controversy and internal legal battles, The Beach Boys have quite an impressive resume that ranks with the very best.

The harmonious rock group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001 and still remains one of the best selling American bands of all time, making them both a commercial and critical success that has stood the test of over 40 years.