By Gregg Miliote

For 32-year-old Pat McGee, playing this year's Sunset Music Festival is "a dream come true."

The native Virginian currently resides just across the bay in Bristol and is counting the days until he gets to perform in front of his new Rhode Island friends.

The Pat McGee Band will play along with singer-songwriter Anna Nalick Thursday night at the Newport Yachting Center. The night's event also will include a solo performance on the side stage by Eric Fontana.

It will certainly be a new experience for McGee and his five bandmates. After being on the road for nearly 250 shows each year, relaxing at home before and after the Newport gig is something McGee is relishing.

"It's going to be a lot of fun. I'll be wakeboarding in the bay during the day and then playing a gig before a bunch of close friends at night," McGee explained. "I am hugely looking forward to this show. I've been trying to get on the Sunset bill ever since it started."

McGee happened upon Rhode Island's pristine coastline after meeting, falling in love with and marrying his college sweetheart, Sue Chase, who grew up in Portsmouth.

"Yep. I just married a girl from Portsmouth and the rest is history," McGee said. "I love being by the water and being known at all the local restaurants. But not because I'm in a band, just because I'm a local dude."

McGee said he expects his friends to all pile onto boats and cruise into Newport Harbor just in time for his homecoming show. And the timing of the performance couldn't be better for the band that has enjoyed stellar support from its diehard fans.

The band's fifth album, "Save Me," which includes the single "Must Have Been Love," was released Tuesday, June 28, on Kirtland Records.

"It's a little more rockin' out than our past stuff. It's not a frickin' Metallica record, but it's something more fun to play on stage," McGee said.

"This album is a big step in a new direction for us. I grew up liking heavier music than I ever played on stage. It's a real band album."

McGee first started as a solo artist a decade ago in Virginia. While playing 25 shows a month, McGee started to form his own band by picking and choosing the best musicians he heard during those late nights in various rock clubs.

"We've been on the roller coaster ever since," McGee said.

After a decade's worth of non-stop touring, McGee said he and "the boys" have never been closer. "It's been a third of our lives that we've been together now, and it's fun to look back on," McGee explained. "Yeah. We're stuck up each other's butts

every day for like 10 years straight, but we're still great friends. It's actually pretty insane when I take the time to think about."

McGee said he hopes Newport's audience will connect with his acoustic, southern style jam rock music like so many others have from across the nation.

"I hope everyone just looks around and sees that our shows are not just about one song, it's about the whole show," McGee said. "Just expect some real, true music. We'll be playing with the audience, not at them."