The timeless, influential roots rock of The Band will be the focus of a concert Saturday at Stickyz Rock 'n' Roll Chicken Shack in Little Rock.

Chest Fever, a five-piece outfit made up of members from San Diego-based Mrs. Henry -- keyboardist Jody Bagley, guitarist Dan Cervantes and bassist Blake Dean along with organist/saxophonist Ben Pinnola and drummer Allan Ritter -- will perform songs from The Band's legendary eponymous album from 1969 during the show.

The Chest Fever fellas were rehearsing last week at a lake house belonging to Ritter's family at Mount Gilead, Ohio (sadly, the home is not big and pink) in preparation for its current tour that began Wednesday in Louisville, Ky.

The group, named for the loping, groove-laden track from The Band's first album, "Music From Big Pink," isn't so much a tribute act as it is a group putting its own spin on The Band's songs.

"We often say we are a band playing The Band," Bagley says. "We try to approach it with our style as well as do justice to the original music. It's different from a tribute group in that we're not taking on the characters and such."

The idea for Chest Fever came about after the release of the live album and documentary "Mrs. Henry Presents The Last Waltz," a tribute to "The Last Waltz," the star-studded 1976 concert-live album-film at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco that was meant to be The Band's grand adieu. In 2022, Cervantes says, representatives of The Band asked if the group would carry on The Band's music and Chest Fever was born.

"It's fun to put our new spin on these old songs," Pinnola says. "We take the catalog of The Band and bring it to the 21st century."

Talking about what makes the music of The Band so special, Dean says: "Everybody in The Band was a unique weirdo. They all had their own spice, and it wasn't homogenized, one-size-fits-all. The idea that everyone had their own kinked, warped view of the tunes contributed to their identity."

The Band was formed in 1967 in Ontario, Canada by Canadians Robbie Robertson (guitar), Rick Danko (bass, vocals), Richard Manuel (piano, vocals) Garth Hudson (keyboards) and Phillips County native Levon Helm (drums/vocals). The group got its start in the late 1950s as the Hawks, the backing band for Arkansas rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins.

The group left Hawkins and continued to tour and in 1965 and '66 became Bob Dylan's backing band. In 1968 the group dubbed itself The Band and released "Music From Big Pink," which contains their most popular song, "The Weight."

"The Band" was released in 1969 followed by "Stage Fright" (1970), "Cahoots," (1971), "Moondog Matinee" (1973), "Northern Lights -- Southern Cross" (1975) and "Islands" (1977).

The group split up after "The Last Waltz," and Manuel died in 1986. Helm, Danko, and Hudson returned without Robertson and recorded three more albums, 1993's "Jericho," "High on the Hog" from 1996 and 1998's "Jubilation," The Band's 10th and final studio album.

The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and in 2004 was ranked by Rolling Stone as 50th on its list of 100 greatest artists of all time. Hudson is the group's sole surviving member, after Robertson's passing last year.

One of the key voices in The Band was Helm, who sang lead on some the group's most memorable tracks like "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Up on Cripple Creek," both from "The Band." Of course, Chest Fever will play those songs Saturday, but drummer Ritter won't be singing.

"[Helm] was a very underrated drummer," Ritter says. "It's funky, and I love it. And he could sing, which is something I can't do. I mean, I can lip sync."

"He actually sings entirely different songs while we play," Cervantes says with a laugh.

As musicians, interpreting The Band's work "is not easy. It's demanding, but it's also loose," bassist Dean says.

He grew up influenced by bass players like Les Claypool of Primus, Larry Graham of Graham Central Station and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin. Playing the bass parts created by Danko is unique, he says.

"I don't know anybody who plays bass like Rick Danko. The lines are so fun and rubber-bandy and delightful. He's so precise, too. It's funny how loose it feels, but every verse is the same goofy thing again and again. He was like some kind of Martian-funk guy."

Chest Fever has played Arkansas before, and Cervantes says the band is looking forward to returning to Helm's home state.

"Levon is loved in every part of the world, and it's definitely a different experience and a much appreciated one when we get to come play Little Rock."