You might suspect that someone born and raised in such a legendary musical locations as Woodstock, N.Y., might naturally be inclined to have a musical career. In the case of Jim Weider (far left in the photo at right), that assumption would be correct.

Born in the early 1950s, Weider was in his late teens when the Woodstock Festival & Concert came to the area. But Woodstock was already known as an arts colony of sorts, and Weider already had an array of musical influences by then.

“Growing up here was pretty cool,” Weider said in a phone interview, “because The Paul Butterfield Blues Band lived here and he would always be jamming. His harp playing really influenced me. I would see Dave Sanborne and some of Paul Butterfield’s other members just jamming around, like Buzzy Feiten, who was a big influence on me on guitar. John Hall from Orleans was playing with his band. The Band lived here. Van Morrison used to have festivals out in the field.”

Weider had the opportunity to join one of those groups in 1985 as the band re-formed and took on Weider as its new lead guitarist, replacing Robbie Robertson. He had a nice long run with The Band from ’85 to 2000. He has also performed live or done studio work with an array of musical legends.

Weider cites producing some tracks with Mavis Staples and recording some tracks with her as a career highlight and also working with Los Lobos. And then of course a highlight was working with Scotty Moore and D.J. Fontana when cutting tracks with them, The Band, and Keith Richards, Weider said. “That was a blast.”

Weider is also known as the Master of the Telecaster and has made several instructional videos and DVDs for guitar. “It started out as just a fun thing,” Weider said of his instructional series, “and then it just took off.”

These days Weider is back on the road promoting his CD Percolator with his current band Jim Weider’s Project Percolator. Jamming with the likes of Rodney Homes on drums, Mitch Stein on guitar, and Steve Lucas on bass, Weider calls his current sound “groove rock,” and he and the band bring that sound to Roanoke on Sunday night. (The group also plays Double Door Inn in Charlotte on Friday and The Grey Eagle in Asheville on Saturday.

The show at Kirk Avenue Music Hall has an early start time of 7:30 p.m. so attendees should be able to get back home early enough that getting up and going to work on Monday morning will not be a problem. Weider said the band has taken his songs, which have structure and melody, but then they stretch out the middle with some great improvisation. “Each night is different,” Weider said. “We’re going to raise the roof down there.”

Weider said that in addition to songs from Percolator, that the group would also be playing songs from an upcoming CD called Pulse, which will be released in the spring, as well as a Band song or two. “Get everybody out there and let’s have a good time,” Weider said.

Tickets for Feb. 8 concert featuring Jim Weider’s Project Percolator are $15 and are available at Kirk Avenue Music. Call 540.589.0546 for tickets or more information.