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The rumble of a Harley-Davidson, the whine of an electric guitar and the howl of a long-haired blues-rocker — it must be concert season once again at Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson.

The Maryville dealership kicks off "The Shed" Concert Series on Saturday night with a free performance by The Dixie Werewolves, a blues-rock trio from Blount County that blends with the biker culture as well as Jack Daniel's and Coke. For the Werewolves, the show marks the beginning of the spring and summer festival season, which keeps the band busy every year.

"We got some pretty good shows we're doing this year — the Harley-Davidson National Rally in the summer, where we're the opening band for the two big headliners both nights (Montgomery Gentry and Big Head Todd and the Monsters)," guitarist/singer Jeff Breazeale told The Daily Times this week. "Of course, I ride as well, so I'm in with a lot of the bike community. I think it's just the genre and the era of the music we play — the more high-energy, classic rock stuff. It's more of an energetic show, especially more than most three-piece bands try to portray. We put on a lively show, and people like to get involved when we play."

Calling from Michigan, where he was putting the finishing touches on his own '77 Shovelhead Custom bike that he plans to ride to the rally on Saturday, Breazeale said the band was honored to open the dealership's concert series. While the majority of the series will feature free shows every Saturday night, a few are ticketed and put on in conjunction with WDVX-FM as a separate "Americana Concert Series" that will feature national headliners like Ray Wylie Hubbard, Junior Brown, James McMurtry and more.

"They've got a great venue, and they've done some real good upgrades out there," Breazeale said. "It's a great outdoor venue. People can mill around and eat, and it provides a great venue for some of these bigger bands that wouldn't normally play in Blount County."

The show is just another feather in the cap for the Werewolves, all of whom have played the club circuit for years in various bands before hooking up to form a three-piece blues-rock-boogie outfit as a side project. Breazeale began performing locally in 1975 (after winning the talent contest at Maryville's Hillbilly Homecoming when he was only 7) and hit the road with a band called Kids shortly thereafter.

His wanderings took him to Houston, where, for 15 years, he performed with a popular regional band called Texas Overdrive, which made it to the precipice of stardom before breaking up. He worked with Jimmy Johnson of Muscle Shoals Sound for a few years before trying to make it as a songwriter in Nashville and eventually landed back in Blount County.

Once back in East Tennessee, he went to work building homes and sought out a studio to record some of his own material. He settled on Murlins Music World, off West Broadway in downtown Maryville, where Chambers happened to be working. Rusty Chambers played the drum parts for Breazeale and broached the subject of getting together permanently. Wade West was brought on board, and the Werewolves were born, combining a mixture classic rock and blues, from ZZ Top to Stevie Ray Vaughan to Eric Clapton to Led Zeppelin. All three add vocals, and the three-part harmonies make the performance even tighter, Breazeale said.

For the past five years, the band has also hosted "Boogie on the Bridge," an event that began as a private party but quickly grew to a public gathering. The event is coming up again on May 27, Breazeale added.

"We'll have the normal nine bands, camping and all that stuff," he said.

The band will hopefully finish up a new album by the end of the summer, he added. It's been a few years since the group released "Sweet Southern Sunshine," and the new work leans more toward the blues than hard-driving rock. ("As we get older, our voices don't go as high," he explained with a laugh.)

The problem is finding time to get into the studio in between all those gigs.

"We're just doing marvelous, and all the guys are just rolling right along," he said.

Upcoming concerts at 'The Shed'

April

— 13: RobinElla and the CCstringband at 8 p.m.; $10

— 14: The Parrott Brothers Band with SpankyDog at 7 p.m.; free

— 21: Blue Mother Tupelo with porterdavis at 7 p.m.; free

— 28: Mic Harrison and The High Score with The Dirty Guv'nahs at 7 p.m.; free

May

— 5: James McMurtry with Jeff Finley at 7 p.m.; $10 in advance and $15 at the door

— 12: Jay Clark and the CCstringband with Jimmy Davis at 7 p.m.; free

— 19: Speed Shifter with RMS at 7 p.m.; free

— 26: Junior Brown at 8 p.m.; $10 in advance and $15 at the door

June

— "The Big Show's" John Boy and Billy with Zoso (a Led Zeppelin tribute band) at 6 p.m.; free

— 9: Scott Holt at 7 p.m.; free

— 16: Ray Wylie Hubbard with Bonepony at 7 p.m.; $10 in advance and $15 at the door

— 23: Kincaid at 7 p.m.; free

— 30: "All American Weekend" featuring Big Gun (an AC/DC tribute band) with Speed Shifter at 7 p.m.; free

July

— 1: The Holy Goats at 4 p.m.; free

— 7: Mic Harrison and The High Score with Caddle at 7 p.m.; free

— 14: Clay McClinton with The Ghosts at 7 p.m.; free

— 28: Hanover Fist at 7 p.m.; free

August

— 4: Todd Snider with Will Kimbrough at 7 p.m.; $10 in advance and $15 at the door

— 18: The Bottle Rockets with The Tim Lee Band at 7 p.m.; $10 in advance and $15 at the door

— 23: Club H.O.G. Down Home 24th Annual Rally, featuring Blue Mother Tupelo and Mic Harrison and The High Score starting at 6 p.m.; free

— 24: Club H.O.G. Down Home 24th Annual Rally, featuring the Doug Shock Band and Big Gun starting at 6 p.m.; free

— 25: Club H.O.G. Down Home 24th Annual Rally, featuring the Jay Clark Band and The Kentucky Headhunters at 6 p.m.; free

September

— 1: Damon Fowler at 7 p.m.; free