Party: Chuck Mead & His Grassy Knoll Boys w/ the Kevin Abernathy Band

Party: Chuck Mead & His Grassy Knoll Boys w/ the Kevin Abernathy Band

Chuck Mead of BR549 is coming back to Knoxville!!

Date: Friday, July 17
Doors @ 8pm | Show Starts @ 9pm
Tickets $10 ADV | $12 DOS

Chuck Mead BIO
After leading several popular ‘80s cult bands in and around his hometown of Lawrence, Kansas, Chuck Mead landed on Nashville’s Lower Broadway where he co-founded the famed ‘90s Alternative Country quintet BR549. The band’s seven albums, three Grammy nominations and the Country Music Association Award for Best Overseas Touring Act would build an indelible bridge between authentic American Roots music and millions of fans worldwide. With BR on hiatus, Chuck formed The Hillbilly All-Stars featuring members of The Mavericks, co-produced popular tribute albums to Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, guest-lectured at Vanderbilt University, and became a staff writer at one of Nashville’s top song publishers. In 2009, he released his acclaimed solo debut album, Journeyman’s Wager, and toured clubs, concert halls and international Rock, Country and Rockabilly festivals with his band The Grassy Knoll Boys.

As Music Director for the Broadway smash Million Dollar Quartet, Chuck began crafting the music arrangements during the show’s original Daytona and Seattle workshop productions, supervised the musical performances for its 2008 Chicago opening, created new music material for the show’s Tony Award-winning Broadway run, produced the original cast album, and oversaw the music for its smash 2011 premiere at London’s Noël Coward Theatre. In 2013, MDQ broke the Chicago record for longest running musical.

Chuck’s acclaimed 2012 release, Back At The Quonset Hut, was recorded at Nashville’s legendary Quonset Hut Studio where Patsy Cline, George Jones, Merle Haggard Roger Miller, Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash and more cut some of country’s greatest tracks. Produced by original BR549 producer Mike Janas and with the participation of students from Belmont University’s College of Entertainment and Music Business, the album of classic covers features surviving members of Music Row’s original ‘A Team’ studio musicians as well as guest appearances by Old Crow Medicine Show, Elizabeth Cook, Jamie Johnson and Bobby Bare.

2014 ushers in Free State Serenade, the new Chuck Mead & His Grassy Knoll Boys release on Nashville-based Plowboy Records. Produced by long-time ally and friend Joe Pisapia (kd Lang, Ben Folds Five) and featuring BR549’s Don Herron, Old Crow Medicine Show’s Critter Fuqua, Alan Murphy, Will Rambeaux, and Mark Andrew Miller, Free State Serenade is Chuck Mead’s strongest effort yet.

“It’s been incredibly liberating to do all these things I’ve never done before. I’ve already gone from the bars of Lower Broadway in Nashville to the Broadway stage, and the upcoming album is one of the most unique and rewarding projects I’ve ever been a part of. I’m looking forward to where it all brings me next.” - Chuck Mead


Kevin Abernathy Music BIO

Following the release of his critically-acclaimed 2012 solo record, “Some Stories,” Kevin Abernathy hit the road pretty hard, traveling far and wide with just his well-worn Gibson acoustic guitar, a passel of songs, and the desire to play for whoever would listen.

That year or more of the troubadour’s life caused the Knoxville, Tennessee, singer-songwriter to realize something: he missed playing the electric guitar, which had been a crucial element to the three Kevin Abernathy Band albums that preceded “Some Stories.”

After several happy hour discussions with friend Tim Lee, the pair set out to record a followup to “Some Stories” that would allow Abernathy to stretch out and put his extensive guitar prowess on display without sacrificing of his story-telling skills and innate melodic sense.

The result, “Ain’t Learned Yet,” was recorded over the course of 2013 and ’14 at several studios in the Knoxville area and featuring both Lee’s and Abernathy’s respective bands. The powerful rock n’ roll of tracks such as the opener, “Cause And Effect,” sit comfortably alongside more contemplative fare like “How Lucky The Night” and the heartbroken honky-tonk of “You Must Be Lonely.”

The whole package is tied together with Abernathy’s innovative guitar work, straightforward songcraft, and emotive vocals.