The 2008 Redmond Derby Days theme is “Through the Decades” and there’s no better way to jog people’s nostalgic memories than with music they associate with their “good old days.”

Because Derby Days is geared to fun-lovers of all ages, it’s fitting that the entertainment line-up for this year’s festival spans more than 50 years’ worth of popular music.

Community volunteer Bob Wikstrom has scheduled Derby Days entertainmnent for the past eight years and is a singer and keyboard player in the band Big Dog Revue, which has played at every Derby Days during that time.

“Coincidence? Naw!,” Wikstrom joked, but the band has been a favorite of local crowds, playing a mix of classic rock, Motown and funk tunes.

“The Dogs have been together twelve years. Unusual for local bands to stay together for that long, especially a seven-piece group like ours,” said Wikstrom. “All of the Mutts have been playing since they were in junior high — that’s a long time ago. … Now we spend our weekends playing casinos and clubs in the area. Just having a good time.”

At last year’s Derby Days, Big Dog Revue had an odd “first” — a heckler. The woman, who appeared to be quite inebriated, loudly voiced her objections to the lyrics of the Commodores’ “Brickhouse.” She was ushered away by Redmond Police and the show went on.

This year, a first at Derby Days will be a performance by Nathan Chance, a Seattle-based country/rock band which recently opened for Rascal Flatts and has upcoming gigs with Kenny Loggins, Clint Black and Jo Dee Messina.

Chance McKinney, who is the co-lead vocalist with Nathan Arneson, said the five-piece group’s sound is “a mix between country rock and ‘80s rock — like if you had 38 Special, AC/DC, Def Leppard and George Strait all stepping onstage with cowboy hats. “We’re not your traditional country band. We do new stuff and tie in some classic rock. We’re not gonna do a full version of ‘Sweet Home Alabama,’ but do a lot of medleys where we tie in familiar songs.”

Nathan Chance hasn’t played Redmond before and McKinney said he didn’t know how the Derby Days crowd would react, but country radio station KMPS is enthusiastically promoting the show.

“Since they’ve jumped on-board, it’s a big event for us, and we hope the Redmond City Council will be happy with what they bought,” he said.

Their show at Derby Days will be “high-energy and family-friendly,” McKinney promised.

At other venues, audiences have been excited because Nathan Chance’s sound is “the stuff we’ve been missing on the radio for the past 15 years.”

Big Dog Revue and Nathan Chance will perform on the Microsoft Stage at Derby Days, at 2:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., respectively, on Saturday, July 12.

Other bands on the Microsoft Stage will include the Rockin’ Daddies (‘50s rock) at 1 p.m., Soul’d Out (‘70s hits) at 4 p.m., The Spazmatics (‘80s pop) at 5:30 p.m. and Rock Candy (‘90s hits) at 7 p.m.

In addition, the Redmond Senior Center will host an outdoor “Through the Decades” dance with alternating sets by The Rain Dogs, winners of the 2008 Classic Rock-a-Thon at the Old Fire House Teen Center and the Sophisticated Swing Big Band, from 6-9:30 p.m. at Derby Days.

Derby Days runs from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, July 12 at the Redmond City Hall Campus, 15670 NE 85th St., with carnival rides at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center, 16600 NE 80th St., Thursday, July 10 through Sunday, July 13.

For additional information, call the Derby Days hotline at (425) 556-2299 or visit www.redmond.gov.