Jefferson Starship, a spinoff of the 1960s psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane, will mark its 50th anniversary with a show Saturday at Penn’s Peak on Maury Road, Jim Thorpe.

The band, which last played the Peak in 2015, features David Freiberg, Jefferson Starship co-founder, on guitar and vocals. Freiberg joined San Francisco’s Jefferson Airplane in 1972, performing alongside Paul Kantner, Jack Casady, Jorma Kaukonen and Grace Slick.

Transcending from classical to rock

Born in Boston, Freiberg started out in classical music, though folkie/activist Pete Seeger influenced him most. Freiberg, a coffeehouse singer-songwriter in the 1960s, “had been hanging out with Paul picking banjos. We decided to become folk singers.”

Freiberg spent time in the duo David & Michaela, which “had a bunch of folk songs, a comedy exchange. We made a little living at it, enough so I could quit my day job. Then it became obvious it wasn’t working out being a folk singer, so off I went.”

Eventually, rock ’n’ roll’s surging popularity impacted Freiberg’s musical path. When Kantner was starting a rock band in the mid-60s, however, Freiberg was unavailable.

“I was in jail for a small amount of marijuana possession. Paul visited me, said he was starting a band with Marty Balin. I said it sounded great, I can’t wait to get out of here.”

Upon his release, Freiberg formed the psychedelic rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service. The group’s 1968 debut album followed Jefferson Airplane’s 1967 sophomore effort “Surrealistic Pillow,” which housed the hits “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit.”

Freiberg, who departed Quicksilver Messenger Service in 1971, landed a slot on Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart’s 1972 solo album.

A new gig

Kantner and Slick contributed background vocals to the song on which Freiberg sang, leading to a new chapter for the musician.

“Marty Balin left Jefferson Airplane, so they asked me to get on the last Jefferson Airplane tour,” said Freiberg, who appeared on the band’s 1973 live set. He also recorded “Baron von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun,” a collaborative album with Kantner and Slick.

When it came time for new music, Jefferson Airplane pondered a name change. Kantner’s 1970 concept album “Blows Against the Empire” provided inspiration.

“He listed everyone who played on it,” Freiberg said. “He called it the Jefferson Starship Crew; everybody that played in Jefferson Airplane except Jorma and Jack, plus Pete Sears.”

From 1974 to 1984, Freiberg recorded eight studio albums with Jefferson Starship. One title, 1975’s “Red Octopus,” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s pop albums chart.

Jefferson Starship’s biggest hit singles during the 1970s include “Miracles,” “With Your Love,” “Runaway” and “Jane,” the latter which Freiberg co-wrote. “Jane” has appeared in various media, including the 2023 comedy thriller “Cocaine Bear.”

Parting ways

After Kantner’s departure in 1984, Jefferson Starship transitioned to simply Starship. Freiberg, who had played bass, keyboards and other instruments during his run in Jefferson Starship, left Starship shortly after attending sessions for the act’s first album.

“I didn’t belong there. Peter Wolf was producing the album, playing almost all the keyboards.” Furthermore, “they used songs from outside the band, exclusively. It wasn’t what I wanted to do. I could have sung, but they had Mickey Thomas.”

Starship, whose slick pop-rock sound bore no resemblance to the Jefferson bands, scored hits with singles such as “We Built This City,” “Sara” and “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now.”

Had Freiberg not left Starship, he would not have met his wife of 30-plus years, singer Linda Imperial. Freiberg would, though, again board Jefferson Starship - which Kantner revived in the early 1990s - two decades later, at Kantner’s request.

The current lineup, in place when Kantner passed away in 2016, also features: Cathy Richardson, lead vocals and guitar; Jude Gold, lead guitar; Donny Baldwin, drums; and Chris Smith, keyboards and synth bass.

What to expect

Fans at the Peak will hear music from both Jefferson bands and Starship. Though Kantner rejected Starship music, “there was such confusion” among fans “that we decided to do it,” Freiberg said. Baldwin was a member of Starship during the act’s 1980s run.

As for Freiberg’s former bandmates, two made contributions to Jefferson Starship’s most recent album, 2020s “Mother of the Sun.” Slick co-penned “It’s About Time,” while Balin, who passed away in 2018, co-wrote “Don’t Be Sad Anymore.”

Jefferson Starship has no immediate plans for new music, though “we have a bunch of songs we’ve been working on for a while,” said Freiberg, a 50-plus-year resident of his Novato, California, home. “We don’t all live in the same cities. We will find time to get those done.”

Among his career highlights, Freiberg cited one particularly memorable event: an unsigned Quicksilver Messenger Service playing the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival. The event also featured the likes of Jefferson Airplane, The Who, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin

Freiberg, looking ahead, has no intentions of slowing down.

“I’m trying to speed up. I’m having more fun now than I ever did. It’s the only way to stay alive. I made it to 85. I will probably do it till the day I fall over dead.”