There are several former Kingsport residents, friends of mine who would be completely shocked at what’s happening downtown if they came back today. What used to be a sleepy business district after-five has all of sudden become a vibrant groundswell of businesses, enthusiastic citizens and musicians who are nurturing new hope downtown.
As a matter of fact, this past Thursday night at the Southern Culture on the Skids and Rob Russell and the Sore Losers show, I saw several promoters and business people from surrounding cities who were scratching their heads asking the question – “why can’t we have something like this?”
Click here for photos from this night on the town.
It wasn’t long ago the statement “there’s nothing to do in Kingsport” was hardly challenged. The Model City never had a night life and in particular, Downtown Kingsport. We used to joke they rolled up the streets at 5.00. However this summer I can hardly keep up with all that’s happening in the heart of our city. I work there and get out quite a bit, but between the concerts, the new sculptures and even the new businesses – I’m pleasantly surprised and so are lots of other people too.
I had been looking forward to this concert for quite some time. The year was 1991 and I remember playing in a band called The Watch at the ‘Rockin’ on the River Festival.’ As a new band, we played the early afternoon slot that day below the Devils Looking Glass, but the main attraction later that night was ‘Southern Culture on the Skids.” This was the first experience with this exciting hillbilly trio that gains new fans everytime they play and I still distinctly remember the fried chicken thrown from the stage that night with their song ‘Eight Piece Box.’
Hailing from North Carolina, Southern Cultures performs a flavor of music they refer to as ‘Countrypolitan.” Now that’s a new word, but I imagine it blends a dose of hillbilly pride with a esoteric appreciation for all things retro and all things chic. Nevertheless, Rick Miller, the vocalist and guitarist has a look – it’s wild and crazy and I think it was Gary Redding that night who said he’d never seen him play anything more than a $30 guitar. He’s right. Rick’s shtick is hardly his gear, but he plays big long surfer rock-and-roll with a hillbilly bliss that continues to grow after more than 20 years. SCOTS has all kinds of fans both young and old and after trying to hire them one year and discovering their price tag, I was surprised to see them setting up their own gear, but there they were – Rick, Mary Huff on bass and their drummer David Hartman, an extended white van and plenty of cds and t-shirts for sale.
I was standing next to the black-clad Rob Russell when I mentioned this and he made a point to recognize that they’re probably smart doing this, traveling the road as economical as possible to make sure the money comes in. They’ve been doing this a long time and seem to have a good handle on the business.
Rob was excited to be the opening act tonight. He had been waiting for a long time and while we were talking, I was surprised to hear him mention that he’s planning to run for Congress in Johnson City. He stopped for a moment and looked my way long enough to know that he’s serious. Rob is an excellent songwriter and a true bohemian, I can hardly wait to see how he stirs local politics.
The Sore Losers arrived early and went through the sound check and I had plenty of time to settle in for my first glass of Jonesborough Depot Street beers including their sweet and hearty Scottish Ale, but my favorite, the light pale ale – one of the best local beers I’ve tasted.
Southern Culture was on the stage soon and it wasn’t long before a light rain began to fall. That didn’t seem to bother anyone though and then I saw Jared Bentley and Vanessa Persson. Vanessa was celebrating the big “3-0” (ha!) and had an interesting friend with her from Southwest Virginia. We stood in the rain for some time and I listened to her animated stories about how she was a dancer at New Beginnings in Johnson City and that’s where she met her husband.
That’s one of my favorite things about the Downtown Concert Series. There are regulars and then there are new faces each week and in our little town, there’s nothing quite like sharing the streets with friends over live music. It’s a great place to catch up – I ran into one of my first girlfriends, the blue-eyed Tammy Rowland who was with her husband shooting photos and Charlie and Patti Addison who used to be a Oakwood Markets many years ago. I was surprised to see a little three-year old dancing in the streets with a tall-long-haired country Benny Wilson who was all smiles.
As usual, there were plenty of musicians too including ‘Vanbuscar’ from Greeneville punk legends ‘Scull Soup,’ Tommy Starnes and Greg Southerland with Bennie’s band and Goose Creek Symphony bassist Doug Habenna and my old blues friend Gary Redden whom I see quite often downtown.
Southern Culture cooked up a great audience response too. The small rain shower barely affected the show and there was a great crowd in front of the stage and girls coming on and off the stage as Mary, bassist for the band and dressed in a bright blue bowling shirt kept the bands vibe moving until close to 10.00 – a late one for downtown indeed.
Some of favorite songs of the night included ‘Eight Piece Box’ (thanks Mike Haire for the chicken). ‘Liquored Up and Lacquered Down’ never sounded better and I heard a new song called ‘Soulville’ that was extra spicy for the night. One of the surprising moments was when Miller, frontman for Southern Culture paid tribute to my favorite local cigar store, Tobacco Road with a song named the same.
The SCOTS show was great, but one of the special events was the after-hours concert at Get Rhythm. This is a new bar in downtown Kingsport that features karoke and Johnny Cash Tributes. Jeff Tankersley (former wrestler and armored car expert) is managing the bar and he loves the man in black. He dresses like him on many nights and they pay tribute to Elvis and Willie too, but they have songwriters night too. Tonight though was Rob Russell and the Sore Losers – Part deux.
Benny Wilson did it a few weeks ago and ever since then the opening bands are getting a chance to play to a good crowd after the street concerts are over with. That’s a cool thing too, especially since they are for the most part not paid for their early performance.
Get Rhythm was packed tonight and the red and amber lighting gave the room a nice glow with its retro album covers and various country pop-art posters including faces like Porter Wagner, Roger Miller, Waylon Jennings and more.
“I think they’re about done out there, let’s get things started” Rob said into the microphone and for the next 30 minutes the band reeled through a great set of covers from everything to AC/DC, Johnny Cash, Billy Idol and Johnny Paycheck.
The room was hot tonight too. Plenty of people dancing in front of the stage and several friends were celebrating Vanessa’s birthday. She was dressed in a gorgeous white summer dress and Rob mad no haste to bring her on stage. Vanessa has the blues voice of sultry vixen and she is a terrific performer. No doubt she was the gem of Blue Rapture, but lately she’s working on some new material. She’s good friends with Rob and together they performed a moving set of blues.
As sappy as it may sound, the most important performance was watching Jared Bentley get up and sing with Rob. It was when Russell started to play a little Motown song called “Let’s get it on” that he looked at our table to Jared and said…”you know this one don’t you?”
After a bit of coaxing, Jared was on stage and the girls were moving across the dance floor and it was a real treat to hear this mix-match of talent tonight. Alan Gamble, Greg Smith and several other friends were there late into the night and we all felt a little strange leaving downtown Kingsport after midnight with our ears still buzzing from the whole night of music.
It’s amazing to watch the momentum of the downtown concert series continue to grow. The crowds are safe and there seems to be little trouble. Each week, you’ll find plenty of family and friends gathering outside for some great entertainment too. All around, it’s a job well done and there are so many people who simply do this for social benefits that it continues to inspire me and others who are catching the vibe.
If you haven’t made it downtown for Twilight Alive or Bluegrass on Broad, we’re only halfway through the season and some of the best acts are still to come so check the calendar and join us – you heard it – in Downtown Kingsport.