The show goes on for Southern rock stalwarts Lynyrd Skynyrd, despite two major losses earlier this year.

In late January, founding keyboardist Billy Powell died suddenly of a heart attack at age 56. Shortly thereafter, longtime bassist Ean Evans' lost battle with lung cancer in May at 48.

"Music heals all and we're here today," says guitarist Rickey Medlocke, who will perform with the band Saturday, Oct. 17, at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City.

This isn't the first time Lynyrd Skynyrd has been forced to regroup in this way. The band's trajectory was forever altered in 1977 when a plane crash killed three members, including its leader, Ronnie Van Zant.

Skynyrd disbanded for a decade following that tragedy, but got back together in the late '80s. Johnny Van Zant filled his brother's spot as lead singer, and the lineup included several members from its first incarnation: guitarists Gary Rossington and Ed King, bassist Leon Wilkeson and Powell.

The band resumed a regular touring and recording schedule and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.

But, faced with the loss of Powell and Evans' late-stage cancer diagnosis, the band - whose only original member is Rossington - wasn't sure it could go on.

"There was a time right after Billy passed away - we were blown away - it just came out of nowhere, it's like the wind gets knocked out of you," Medlocke recalls.

Spurred on by an outpouring of supportive e-mails from fans across the world, the surviving members decided the best way to move forward was to focus on the work. The band returned to the studio to finish its latest record, "God & Guns" (Loud & Proud/Roadrunner Records), which came out last month. Joining the band are Peter Keys on keyboards and Robert Kearns on bass.

"We felt like we needed to finish this record, not only for the fans, but especially for those guys," Medlocke says. "They started it with us. We felt it was important to finish it."

The deaths of Powell and Evans even inspired a new track, "Skynyrd Nation," which features Medlocke on vocals along with lead singer Johnny Van Zant.

"One of the e-mails said, 'We hope the Skynyrd nation will continue,'" Medlocke says. "That gave us a great idea to do a song."

Although Medlocke didn't play on Skynyrd's classic albums of the early '70s, he has a unique perspective on its nearly 40-year history.

He briefly performed with the band as its drummer early in the Ronnie Van Zant era before moving on to lead Blackfoot, a hard-rock band that enjoyed a successful run in the late '70s and early '80s. In 1996, he rejoined the Skynyrd lineup as a guitarist.

"Back when we were young guys, you wanted to be the cock of the walk - the king rooster of the yard - you were out to prove to the world that you were the best," he says of the band's earliest days.

"We've come through this tunnel now. We haven't been unscathed. We've taken some licks and bumps along the way. Even when I wasn't with the band, I took some licks and hard knocks."

For Medlocke, the second time with Skynyrd has proven to be the charm.

"If you're fortunate to come out on the other side and have your wits about you and fortunate to be able to continue playing and seeing people smile, you've done your job - you've had a great career," he says.

"I've had a really great career with this band twice."

Lynyrd Skynyrd

WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17

WHERE: Event Center, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City

HOW MUCH: Tickets, priced at $50.50 and $60.50, are available at the Borgata box office or through ComcastTix at 800-298-4200 or go to www.theborgata.com.

WEB SITE: www.lynyrdskynyrd.com

Lynyrd Skynyrd stays current

With a catalog that includes Southern rock staples such as "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird," it would seem a daunting task for Lynyrd Skynyrd to venture back into the studio.

The key to Skynyrd making new music, according to guitarist Rickey Medlocke, is to stay in the moment.

"When you're writing new material, you just let yourself go," he says.

"The band is always compared to the old songs. What we're trying to do is not take away from the old songs, but add to them."

"God & Guns," Lynryd Skynyrd's first new album in six years, showed its currency by entering the Billboard chart at No. 18.

Medlocke says rather than leave "God & Guns" unfinished after Billy Powell and Ean Evans passed away, the band wanted to finish the album - for its departed members as much as for the fans who have shown their support for the band.