Big Daddy Weave
Known for honest songs that tell personal stories of freedom in Christ, Big Daddy Weave fans have long admired the band for their real-life, real-person openness. With songs like “My Story,” “The Lion and the Lamb,” “Overwhelmed,” “Redeemed,” and from their current album, “Alive,” “I Know,” and “All Things New,” Big Daddy Weave has become one of the most beloved bands in Christian music.Millions have taken their anthems of Jesus’s chain-breaking love as their own and sung along to songs about the radical act of redemption. The men of Big Daddy Weave, Mike Weaver (lead vocals, guitar), Jeremy Redmon (guitar, vocals), Joe Shirk (saxophone, keys, vocals) and Brian Beihl (drums), found themselves needing those themes of comfort and assurance at the beginning of 2022. Founding member and Mike’s brother, Jay Weaver, went to be with the Lord on January 2, 2022.In the first few days, the group wondered how they could go on. After Jay’s funeral and testimony after testimony of how Jay and the group have been used, the question became, how could we not go on?Big Daddy Weave is answering that call to minister through music and word both live and in new songs and recorded music being created now. The band’s openness to go through whatever doors God opens for them has kept them going since their early days as students at the University of Mobile. Their spirit of dedication to their calling and their craft shows up in everything they do.“We challenge each other about what we’re going do with that,” says Mike, “saying, we’re alive and we’re here. How are we going to use this time?”Big Daddy Weave’s testimony is about a deep and personal faith in Jesus, no matter the circumstances. It’s one thing to sing about trusting God in the midst of trials, but the men of Big Daddy Weave have learned what it means to truly live by faith and to trust in a God who makes all things new.
Aaron Lewis: Frayed at Both Ends, The Acoustic Tour
Aaron Lewis grew up in Springfield, Vermont, listening to his grandparents’ country 8-tracks. Those roots inspired the multi platinum front man and founder of Staind to return to his origins and since has quietly made an impact on country music without flexing to let everyone know what a big deal he is. With a decade invested in a genre that’s seen him record with George Jones, Charlie Daniels, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss, Mickey Raphael, the Cox Family, Ben Haggard and Dan Tyminski and producer Buddy Cannon, he has claimed two #1 Billboard Country Album debuts for his albums Town Line and Sinner. Lewis’ single “Am I The Only One,” debuted on Billboard’s #1 Hot Country Song,” only the 9thtime a debut has topped the chart since 1958. The hard touring, workingman’s star’s latest album Frayed at Both Ends was released in January of 2022, his most personal and unplugged work.
We Are Messengers w/ Jordan St. Cyr
1964 The Tribute
“1964” focuses on the quintessential moment in history, when The Beatles actually played before a LIVE audience. The Beatles toured the world in the early 1960’s, but now only a precious few remain who actually saw them LIVE. Who actually felt the “mania” that brought them to world acclaim. Today, all that remains are a few scant memories and some captured images in pictures and on poor quality film and video. “1964” meticulously re-creates the “MAGIC” of those LIVE Beatles’ performances with artful precision and unerring accuracy. For those that never saw The Beatles LIVE and always wanted to know what it must have been like…this is as close as anyone could possibly get to…FEELING the MAGIC! For over 30 years, “1964” has thrilled audiences with what is considered to be the most authentic and endearing tribute to The Beatles. This has been accomplished by a steady and consistent cast of talented professional musicians, who painstakingly recreate the look, feel and note for note sound of an actual LIVE Beatles performance.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
With a refreshed lineup and newfound energy, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band remains one of the most accomplished bands in American roots music. Following an extended 50th anniversary tour, the ensemble grew to a six-piece in 2018 for the first time since their early jug band days. The group now includes Jeff Hanna (acoustic guitar, electric guitar), Jimmie Fadden (drums, harmonica), Bob Carpenter (keyboards), Jim Photoglo (bass, acoustic guitar), Ross Holmes (fiddle, mandolin), and Jaime Hanna (electric and acoustic guitar). All six members also sing, and when their voices merge, the harmonies add a powerful new component for the legendary band. And with the father-son pairing of Jeff and Jaime Hanna, the band carries on a country music tradition of blood harmony. Jeff Hanna says, “It’s like when you throw a couple of puppies into a pen with a bunch of old dogs. All of a sudden, the old dogs start playing, you know? That’s kind of what’s happened with us. The basic vibe is so up and positive, and the music–we’re hearing surprises from Jaime and Ross all night. And they’re encouraging us in the same way to take more chances. It’s opened a lot of doors for us, musically, and the morale is really great. That’s important for a band that’s been out there for over 53 years.” The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band played their first gig in 1966 in Southern California as a jug band and by 1969 had become a cornerstone of the burgeoning country-rock community. Their career breakthrough came in 1970 with the release of the record Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy and the single “Mr. Bojangles,” a folksy Top 10 pop hit that remains a staple of their live show. During a tour stop in Nashville around that time, Earl Scruggs and his family came backstage to say hello. That introduction led to a friendship and some of the connections the band needed to record Will the Circle Be Unbroken. That three-disc album brought Nitty Gritty Dirt Band together with a number of country, folk, and bluegrass legends. Heroes like Roy Acuff, Mother Maybelle Carter, Jimmy Martin, Merle Travis, and Doc Watson joined the scruffy, young band to record country music standards such as “I Saw the Light” and “Keep on the Sunnyside.” The acclaimed project is considered a landmark recording in American music. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band earned a pop resurgence in 1980 with “An American Dream” and “Make a Little Magic.” Those singles also found traction on the country chart, setting the stage for a major run at country radio. The band secured 16 Top 10 country hits between 1983 and 1990, including three No. 1 singles: “Long Hard Road (The Sharecropper’s Dream),” “Modern Day Romance,” and “Fishin’ in the Dark.” Bernie Leadon, a founding member of The Eagles, played in the band from 1986 to 1988 filling a vacancy by longtime member John McEuen.
