Fans attending John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band’s Friday show at Penn’s Peak, just outside Jim Thorpe on Maury Road, should prepare for a long, rockin’ evening.

“Our shows are traditionally over two hours,” said Cafferty, whose 1983 single “On the Dark Side” was a Top 10 hit on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. “We’ve been known to go pretty long, closer to three hours. We’re just an old bar band. Once you start rolling, it’s hard to stop.”

Born in Providence, Rhode Island, and still residing in the Ocean State, Cafferty’s love of music started early. As a child heading down to the ball field, walking by his cousin’s beach house, he was in awe of sounds coming out of suitcase record player.

“He was playing a single called ‘Rebel-’Rouser’ by Duane Eddy,” Cafferty recalled. “The sound of the guitar and sax stopped me in my tracks.”

A few years later, Cafferty and another cousin saw “A Hard Day’s Night.” The Beatles film prompted the twosome to start their first band.

Before forming Beaver Brown, Cafferty joined drummer Kenny Jo Silva’s band. The twosome, high school and college chums, played for a year or so as a cover band before starting their own group.

“We started recruiting guys to be in what would become the Beaver Brown Band,” Cafferty said. The then-nameless group, rehearsing for a year before playing anywhere, landed a gig at The University of Rhode Island.

While “drinking and thinking” one night, the band, observing a beaver-brown paint can in the room, chose its name.

The Beaver Brown Band officially formed in Narragansett, Rhode Island, in the early 1970s, mostly playing New England bars. By the time they reached New York City, “we were well-practiced,” Cafferty said. “They say it takes 10,000 hours to get good at something. We probably had 50,000 hours by time we got to the city.”

During a performance at New York City’s The Bitter End, the band attracted the attention of record producer Kenny Vance. An original member of Jay and the Americans, Vance stopped in to hear the act play.

“I never even knew he was there,” Cafferty said. “A couple years later, he got a movie script for ‘Eddie and the Cruisers.’ (Director) Martin Davidson was looking for music that would embody the story of the band in the script. Kenny told him he saw this band, did some research and found us.”

Cafferty scored the 1983 film and recorded the soundtrack, which topped 3 million in sales. In addition to “On the Dark Side,” the album also included “Tender Years.” Three years prior, the latter, along with “Wild Summer Nights,” scored airplay in the Eastern Seaboard and other spots. Mainstream success, however, evaded the band.

“We had to jump through a hoop to get a record deal,” said Cafferty, whose sound drew comparisons to friend Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band. “That hoop was ‘Eddie and the Cruisers.’”

Around the time “Eddie and the Cruisers” took off, Cafferty and the band arrived for a gig at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre. Seeing thousands of seats, the concert stage and lighting, the band wondered how it would fill seats as the only performer. “It was sold out,” Cafferty said. “That was our first indication something was happening.”

Cafferty followed the success of “Eddie and the Cruisers” with 1985’s “Tough All Over,” which included the hit title track and “C-I-T-Y.” Also in 1985, Cafferty’s solo track “Hearts on Fire” appeared on the “Rocky IV” soundtrack. In all, Cafferty has had 30-plus songs feature in major motion pictures.

After 1988’s “Roadhouse,” Cafferty and the band recorded the music for 1989’s “Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives!” While the single “Pride and Passion” enjoyed moderate success, the album - the group’s last studio set - was not as successful as the first film’s soundtrack.

“We got dropped from the label, the record business changed, styles changed,” Cafferty said. “We just continued on as a live band.”

Aside from Cafferty, Beaver Brown currently features founding members Gary “Guitar” Gramolini and Michael “Tunes” Antunes, along with Jackie Santos, Dean Cassell and Steve Burke. At times, Don Culp and Rich McMahon fill in for Santos and Burke. In 2012, the band was inducted into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame.

At Penn’s Peak, Cafferty - who cites the venue as a favorite - will perform music both old and new. Following a late-summer/early-fall hits compilation due out on Iconoclassic Records, Cafferty and the band plan to record a new album.

“I’ve been writing a lot of new songs,” Cafferty said. “The ones we’re playing have been getting a great reception. Since they lifted the (COVID) curtain, we’ve experienced some really fun audiences.”