Meet the house band for Red Bull Jukebox Nashville
Related
Brothers Osborne
© Courtesy of Brothers Osborne
Derek Wells
© Courtesy of Derek Wells
You're not going to get many opportunities to see this many artists perform their songs, let alone these kinds of one-time-only reimagined performances.
How has the house band and session artist community in Nashville been the unsung heroes of country music’s resurgence?
If I spend two days working on a Carrie Underwood record, then spend two days working on a Post Malone record, and then work on a Scotty McCreery record, it may be the same drummer on two of those records, or I may know one bass player on the Carrie Underwood record, but it's a different bass player on the other two records or whatever—and there can be any amalgamation of that. There’s a guy named Alex Wright, who's playing keys in the house band for Red Bull Jukebox, who just did the ACM Honors house band with me and plays on records for Thomas Rhett, Tyler Hubbard, Jelly Roll, Nelly, and a bunch of others. The guy playing drums at Red Bull Jukebox is Evan Hutchings, who was ACM Drummer of the Year and plays on Scotty McCreery records that I produced. The other two I know who will be in the house band are an award-winning bass player named Tony Lucido and my dear friend Charlie Worsham, who’s going to play guitar with me along with banjo and mandolin.
What makes house band players special compared to other types of musicians?
It really boils down to the ability to confidently perform music that you may not be that familiar with. You might tell them, “Hey, we want this to feel jazzy,” or “We’re gonna slow this way down and it's going to require thinking of some different parts,” or “We're going to change the key of this song, and you have to be able to play it in a different key in 30 seconds.” At the 2023 ACM Honors, we had to back up everyone from Nelly to music by Morgan Wallen and Toby Keith. It was one band doing everything from traditional country and modern pop country to straight-up hip-hop with Nelly.
Shaboozey
© Daniel Prakopcy
Given what house bands are, what kind of show can fans expect at Red Bull Jukebox?
Anytime you see that many acts in one place at one time, it's a huge thing. They’ll get to see all their favorite artists in this one place at one time. Our responsibility as the backing band is to make sure that nobody leaves wanting. I take it very seriously that if you're there to see Brothers Osborne, Tucker Wetmore, or whoever, and you've seen them before or you're a fan of their record, we're going to try to elevate that experience for you. You're definitely not going to leave thinking, “I wish Brothers played with their real band.” I want to make sure that we play so great for Priscilla Block that you leave there as a fan of hers.
Priscilla Block
© Courtesy of Priscilla Block
Related
I know fans are voting for the songs that’ll be played, but how else are you constructing the setlist for each artist?
We’re putting on the entire show, but for each individual artist and their own setlist of music, we have to consider the hit songs they think people will be disappointed if they don't play. You also might have songs that they know are great live songs that may not have been big radio hits but their fans will freak out if they play them. We have to balance that with these fan-voted experiences. This house band isn’t a karaoke band. So, if we end up doing some super alternate version of a song for Priscilla or Shaboozey or whomever, we don't just get through it. The artist needs to be proud of it. At the ACM Honors, we did this alternate version of a song for Tyler Hubbard, and he ended up loving it so much his team is talking about going into the studio and recording a proper version in the style of what we did. That's what I want for all these moments the crowd picks.
Why should people come out to Red Bull Jukebox?
You're not going to get many opportunities to see this many artists perform their songs, let alone these kinds of one-time-only reimagined performances. Plus - it's October in Nashville at Ascend Amphitheater. The venue and the weather will be amazing. You can't afford to not be at the show.