A pair of Austin men are getting a chance to play with artists with some real musical pedigrees.

Dennis Charnecki, along with Curtis Gilbert, both of the DC Drifters, will play in a pair of short tours with people like Charlie Rich Jr., the son of Charlie Rich, famed country and rockabilly musician. The tours started Thursday of this past week with shows in Wisconsin and will play another series of shows in April.

“It’s a really impressive group of people working with this tour,” Charnecki said. “I feel real honored that they want to include us in it as well.”

Charnecki said this opportunity was born of connections he’s made through music over the years. A lot of hard work that pays off with playing with some true musical talents including Georgette Jones, the daughter of George Jones and Tammy Wynette.

“For years we’ve always been in the loop,” Charnecki said.

It starts on the ground level as organizers get an idea for a show and then get the word out to different kind of venues to see what they can line-up.

It’s not a short process.

“This has been in the works for a long time,” Charnecki said.

Shows like this, that will also include Michael Twitty, the son of Conway Twitty along with musicians who have worked with Glenn Campbell and Doug Kershaw, are riding a wave of renewed popularity in rockabilly and older style country.

“There’s a resurgence with all of this,” Charnecki said.

But there is more than just the music. The traveling to shows like this are just as much a part of the overall event. Even the journey to the shows are an event.

“There are times we don’t even turn on the radio because there are so many stories,” Charnecki said.