Get to Know Your 2013 Double Decker Bands

Dynamic lineup brings variety of energies to the stage

The Double Decker Arts Festival Presented by C Spire is upon us, this weekend, April 26 and 27, 2013. Here’s the lineup and a quick profile of each artist.

Friday, April 26 – 6:00-9:00 p.m.

Thacker Mountain Radio Show
Free Concert featuring the Eric Deaton Trio and Blue Mountain

Saturday, April 27 – 10:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m.

University of Mississippi Steel Drum Orchestra – 10:00 a.m.
Chimney Choir – 11:30 a.m.
Shannon McNally – 1:00 p.m.
The Stooges Brass Band – 2:30 p.m.
Kopecky Family Band – 4:00 p.m.
J Roddy Walston and the Business – 5:30 p.m.
Lee Fields and the Expressions – 7:00 p.m.
Drive By Truckers – 8:30 p.m.

Blue Mountain

Photo courtesy of Music in the Hall.

Blue Mountain was formed in Los Angeles in the early 1990s before relocating to Oxford. After the band released their first self-titled album on their own 4-Barrel Records in 1993, they signed with Roadrunner Records label and released their second album, Dog Days. After a five-year hiatus, Blue Mountain reunited in the summer of 2007 and they released Midnight in Mississippi one year later. The band is preparing to part ways again to pursue separate projects.

www.bluemountainband.net

Chimney Choir

This Denver-based group of multi-instrumentalists, writers, and singers skillfully interweave genres resulting in a “folk meets world music sound, steeped in psychedelia.” Often changing instruments between songs, they combine computer synths with traditional acoustic instrumentation and junkyard percussion. In 2012, the band released their first full-length album, a recording of a live performance that took place in an old pipe organ chapel. Chimney Choir tours extensively in the United States and Europe and will be releasing a new album this summer.

www.chimneychoir.com

Drive-By Truckers

Drive-By Truckers (L-R) Jay Gonzalez, Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley, Brad Morgan and Matt Patton of Drive-By Truckers at Tipitina’s on January 27, 2013, in New Orleans. (Erika Goldring Photo)

Boasting a mix of Southern pride and erudite lyrics, Drive-By Truckers became one of the most well-respected alternative country-rock bands of the 2000s. The band is led by frontmen Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley and features a rotating cast of Georgia and Alabama natives. History, folklore, politics, and character studies all share equal space in the band’s catalog. After being on tour for some time, the band released The Big To-Do and Go-
Go Boots, both on ATO Records. Meanwhile, New West Records combed through the band’s first decade of material to help compile Ugly Buildings, Whores, and Politicians: Greatest Hits 1998-2009, which marked the band’s final release for the record label in August 2011.

www.drivebytruckers.com

J Roddy Walston & the Business

Growing up in Cleveland, Tennessee, Walston was steeped in gospel and country music. Since 2004, the band has been based in Baltimore. Walston’s musical influences include Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Harry Nilsson, T.Rex, and Leon Russell. Walston has released five albums: Here Come Trouble, LMNEP, Fierce Tiger, Hail Mega Boys, and J Roddy Walston and the Business.

www.jroddywalstonandthebusiness.com

Kopecky Family Band

This six-member band from Nashville undoubtedly captures the attention of their audience with their unmistakable power and presence. Their music is emotive, the lyrics evoking raw honesty. In 2012 the band began working on their debut full-length album Kids Raising Kids which was released in October.

www.kopeckyfamilyband.com

Lee Fields & the Expressions

There aren’t too many artists making soul music today who had a release in 1969, back when R&B was first beginning to give the drummer some, but Lee Fields is an exception. Since the late 1960s, the North Carolina native has amassed a prolific catalog of albums and has toured and played with numerous music legends. With a catalog that ranges from James Brown-style funk to lo-fi blues to contemporary Southern soul to collaborations with French house DJ/producer Martin Solveig, Lee Fields has done it all. Today, with The Expressions—Truth & Soul’s house band—Lee Fields continues to evolve. Their latest full-length, Faithful Man, released in March 2012.

www.leefieldsandtheexpressions.com

Shannon McNally

Holly Springs resident Shannon McNally’s Small Town Talk is an album of songs by American songwriter Bobby Charles. The album was recorded with Charles’ approval and input before his death, offering a posthumous tribute to this wonderful artist’s career. Small Town Talk features guest performances by Derek Trucks, Will Sexton, Luther Dickinson and Vince Gill.

www.shannonmcnally.com

Stooges Brass Band

Since 1996, the Stooges Brass Band has engaged audiences with its innovative blend of traditional New Orleans brass sounds and contemporary hip-hop beats. They immerse crowds in a high-energy, cut-loose vibe that is contemporary yet deeply rooted in the culturally rich musical legacy of city of New Orleans.

www.stoogesmusicgroup.com

University of Mississippi Steel Orchestra

Ricky Burkhead formed “UMISSO” (University Of Mississippi Steel Orchestra) in 1995. It is the first world music ensemble organized at the University of Mississippi. UMISSO features five instruments from the nine-member steel band family (tenor, double tenor, double second, triple guitar, and six bass) used in the band. The percussion section (engine room) consists of drum set, congas, brake drum, tube shaker, and other accessories. The group’s repertoire is comprised of Caribbean, jazz, funk, classical and popular music.

www.olemiss.edu/depts/music/steeldrum.html