Start with a strong dose of lyrical
singer-songwriter acoustic folk. Add a helping of catchy hooks mixed
with modern rock arrangements and searing, soulful vocals. Then
package everything in a hot-rod Americana string band format featuring
some of the Southeast’s finest bluegrass pickers and rockers.
The finished product is Tennessee Jed.
Drawing on the strengths of his debut studio recording,
Tennessee Jed brings his show to the stage as a solo, duo, trio,
or full band act, featuring a rotating cast of players depending
upon the setting. Jed’s raw and emotional vocal delivery
and guitar playing are backed by a veritable who’s who list
of established and up-and-coming stars in the rock, Americana,
country, and bluegrass world, including, but not limited to: Andy
Thorn (Big Fat Gap, Larry Keel’s Natural Bridge) on banjo,
Nicky Sanders (Steep Canyon Rangers) on fiddle, Robert Sledge
(Ben Folds Five) on bass and acoustic guitar, Walt Hensey (Barefoot
Manner) on bass, Nick Campbell (Jam Pain Society) on drums, and
John T. Boulding (The Shady Grove Band) on banjo and Dobro. The
recording was engineered and co-produced by former Doc Watson
producer Jerry Brown at the legendary Rubber Room in Chapel Hill,
NC. It includes two songs co-written with hot new Arista Nashville
recording artist and former bandmate Jason Michael Carroll of
“Alyssa Lies” fame, whose recent album debuted at
#1 on the Billboard country charts.
Born in Athens, TN, Jed spent most of his childhood
moving throughout the South, finally settling in the Raleigh area
of North Carolina. During this time he was exposed to many different
styles of music, picking up the guitar at age 10 and winning vocal
competitions by age 14. Over the years he played with several
well-known regional North Carolina acts in drastically differing
genres, including jamband One Point Five, industrial metal funk
act Jam Pain Society, and future country sensation Jason Michael
Carroll. Realizing that none of these genres or projects satisfied
his passion for a completely integrated musical experience, he
moved to Nashville, TN to sharpen his songwriting skills and create
a vision that would embrace the many styles he had incorporated
into his own. Eventually he returned to NC to recruit the best
players he had encountered throughout his career for an all-inclusive,
all-star recording project focusing on his new original material.
Jed has given his life to his music, and his
songs reveal the passion of his experience. In a world where popular
music is often lacking in musical depth, tone, and complexity,
traditional folk music remains largely overlooked due to its lack
of emphasis on strong vocal hooks and modern lyrics and arrangements.
Tennessee Jed strives to build a bridge between these extremes,
exposing the public to the richness of acoustic music, while also
presenting a pop mentality that makes the music more accessible
to the mainstream public.
