The Steve Miller Band

Some people call him the Space Cowboy. Some call him the Gangster of Love.

And on Wednesday, plenty of people at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson will be screaming for Steve Miller and his band as this legend of classic rock makes his debut in Tiger Town.

The booking of Steve Miller kind of surprised Marty Kern, director of major events for Littlejohn. After all, Clemson is a college town with college students and college tastes. The Steve Miller Band is a group that has been around since the ’70s and was a classic-rock draw when she was a college student at the University of Florida.

“I was surprised and excited by it,” Kern said. “We have a focus group of students and others and we were hearing a lot of desire for classic rock. Steve Miller’s name kept coming up so we looked into it.”

Now, he will make Clemson a stop on his fall tour, one that follows the very popular summer tour that just recently ended.

The Steve Miller Band is a mainstay in CD collections across the country. His “Greatest Hits” compilation is one of the best sellers ever and features multiple songs that everyone just seems to know like “Fly Like an Eagle,” “Take the Money and Run,” “Rock ‘N Me” and, of course, “The Joker.”

The band created so many hits since the mid ’70s that they have not had to put out an album of new material in more than a decade, but has put together several more greatest-hit CDs as well as a live DVD last year.

“There aren’t many other classic rock legends who have the music catalogue that the Steve Miller Band does,” Kern said. “Plus, there is tremendous crossover in the music among all ages.”

One of the keys to this show, Kern said, is that crossover. While Littlejohn is certainly a college venue, the organizers want to show that the Colliseum is not just for students, but for Clemson residents as well.

The concert will be done in conjunction with the Sigma Chi fraternity’s Derby Days celebration. Each year, Kern said, Sigma Chi helps to sponsor a show at Littlejohn and help out a good cause. This year, it’s Steve Miller and the charity of choice is the Children’s Miracle Network.

Kern said sales of the concert are going well and she expects it to pick up these last few days before the show. She said as soon as people realize who the Steve Miller Band is and hear a couple of the songs on the radio, they tend to buy up tickets ASAP.

“It’s an awesome, fun show that makes you leave on a high note,” Kern said.