After 8 years together, the sun is setting on local funkgrass band Back Forty.

“This is the end as far as our regular gigging career,” acknowledged co-founder Andy Benes, talking about the group’s imminent demise and its final show Saturday night at the Blind Pig.

“It’s really just because family life has started to take precedence for most of us. When we started the band, two of us were married and we didn’t have any kids. And then fast-forward to now - we’re all married and we all have kids - a total of nine kids (among band members). So some of that is pulling us away a little bit.”

A staple of the Ann Arbor scene, Back Forty has played at Top of the Park, the Ann Arbor Art Fairs, Grillin’ for Food Gatherers, The Ark and many locations elsewhere in Michigan.

Besides Benes (mandolin and guitar), the band is comprised of the other co-founder Dan Ripke (guitar), John Yax (drums), Colin Murphey (fiddle) and Jeff Friesen (bass). They are joined regularly by the three-piece Funkbrass Horns (Alan Diez, trumpet; Bill Kuntz, trombone; and Mike Porenta, tenor sax) and a slew of guest musicians.

Porenta moved to Seattle last year, but is returning for the show, Benes said.

Rather than just fizzle out, Benes said band members decided to out with a bang. Two other shows are already history, leaving the Pig date as Back Forty’s final appearance.

“The inspiration is the (classic rock and roll farewell movie) ‘The Last Waltz,’ Benes added. “If you’re familiar with the band The Band - we kind of took a cue from that and decided to invite a lot of our friends and people we’ve been playing with at gigs and everywhere else over the years, and really go out on a high note.”

For the farewell event, the lineup also includes John Latini, Chuck Moburg, Adam Labeaux (original guitarist for The Ragbirds), Gannon Alexander and members of the bands Dragon Wagon, Covert, Jam Samich and GLOWB.

Back Forty has had its present lineup the last eight years.

“Back Forty kind of started out with me and the other guitar player, Dan Ripke,” Benes explained. “Probably over 10 years ago we came up with this idea of Back Forty. It was a twangy, bluegrass theme. But then we started bringing in our other influences, like jazz and jammy-funky rock, and trying to meld that together.”

The group has three CDs and a live disc to its credit. And Benes doesn’t rule out future get-togethers just for fun.

“The thing with the five of us, we’re very close friends, so we definitely plan on playing music together for the rest of our lives. It probably won’t be quite as structured as it has been the last eight years,” he added.

Meanwhile, Colin Murphey is playing with a new project, Anna Lee's Company, and Benes has joined the Ypsilanti-based band Black Jake and the Carnies.