Brothers Osborne will be performing live at The Bluestone in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, February 28th.

 Opening Artist: TBD

 Doors open at 7pm

 All Ages Event

BUY TICKETS

 TICKETS: $15 ADVANCED | $17 DAY OF SHOW

For John and TJ Osborne, getting into music was unavoidable. Growing up in the water town of Deale, Maryland, their close-nit-family of seven spent most nights not in front of the television, but writing and playing songs. The Brothers’ father had a shed behind their home that he used for small performances for friends and family. John and TJ could be caught listening in on their father’s playing or fetching beers for pocket change. Later their father would convert that shed into a home studio where their parents would write and record songs.

As the brothers aged, they formed a band with their ever eclectic father named “Deuce & a Quarter.” The band played cover songs from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Dwight Yoakem to Merle Haggard to Bob Seger. They performed at local venues in the town, but it was here that the Brothers got the taste for performing live.

John (guitar) moved to Nashville first to play in other bands. Two years later, TJ (vocals/guitar) moved to Nashville. It was then they formed Brothers Osborne and began playing as many writer rounds as they could. In April 2011, Warner Chappell/King Pen Music offered them a publishing deal. A year later, Capitol Records offered them a record deal. The Brothers Osborne are currently in the studio finishing their debut album, an album they describe as “aggressive, bold and fragile at times.” More to come from Brothers Osborne in 2015.

Chris Young will be performing live at WCOL Country Jam 2016 on

Friday, September 2nd, 2016 at Legend Valley Music Center near Buckeye Lake

 Gates for the show will open at 5pm.

Two Day Admission Tickets available for just $92 during presale March 11th-19th (after presale $125)

PURCHASE TICKET

www.LEGENDVALLEYFESTIVALS.com

Justin Moore will be performing live at WCOL Country Jam 2016 on

Friday, September 2nd, 2016 at Legend Valley Music Center near Buckeye Lake

 Gates for the show will open at 5pm.

Two Day Admission Tickets available for just $92 during presale March 11th-19th (after presale $125)

Friday Only Admission Tickets: $65

PURCHASE TICKETS

www.LEGENDVALLEYFESTIVALS.com

The Charlie Daniels Band will be performing live at WCOL Country Jam 2016 on

Friday, September 2nd, 2016 at Legend Valley Music Center near Buckeye Lake

 Gates for the show will open at 5pm.

Two Day Admission Tickets available for just $92 during presale March 11th-19th (after presale $125)

Friday Only Admission Tickets: $65

PURCHASE TICKETS

www.LEGENDVALLEYFESTIVALS.com

Chris Stapleton will be performing live at WCOL Country Jam 2016 on

Saturday, September 3rd.

 Gates for the show will open at 4pm.

Two Day Admission Tickets available for just $92 during presale March 11th-19th (after presale $125)

PURCHASE TICKETS 

www.LEGENDVALLEYFESTIVALS.com

Hank Williams Jr. will be performing live at WCOL Country Jam 2016 at Legend Valley Music Center near Buckeye Lake on Saturday, September 3rd.

 Gates for the show will open at 4pm.

Two Day Admission Tickets available for just $92 during presale March 11th-19th (after presale $125)

PURCHASE TICKETS

www.LEGENDVALLEYFESTIVALS.com

Drake White and The Big Fire will be performing live at The Bluestone on Friday, May 5th, 2017

Featured Artist: Drake White

Opening Artist: Dave Kennedy

Opening Artist: Channing Wilson

Doors for the show will open at 7pm

PURCHASE HERE–This Show is SOLD OUT

Drake White Tickets on sale Friday, December 16th at 10am

VIP OPPORTUNITY AVAILABLE

VIP TABLE PURCHASE DOES NOT INCLUDE ADMISSION TICKETS TO THE SHOW.  

Admission tickets must be purchased separately.

• Loft Lower Tier: $250 (seats four people-no exceptions)
• Prime view of the stage!
• Includes first bucket of Miller or Coors Light
• VIP Server
• Exclusive Private Bar access

• Loft Upper Tier: $200 (seats four people-no exceptions)
• Includes first bucket of Miller or Coors Light
• VIP Server
• Private Bar Access
• May have an obstructed view
• *All VIP tables located in the loft area

*All Sales are final

Every reaction begins with a catalyst, some initial event that sets things on their inexorable course. For Drake White, it goes back to something raw and elemental in his debut album Spark.

“I learned how to play guitar and keep people’s attention around a fire,” explains the Hokes Bluff, Alabama native. “A spark can start a fire that can keep you alive and sustain you. So this is the beginning for me. This is the first strike of the flint.”

The spirit of Spark comes from those simple, early days spent enjoying the outdoors among friends in the warm glow of a fire. And though he’s now a city dweller with all the complications and distractions that entails, White still seeks the freedom and deeper connections he felt when the chorus of nature and the strums of his guitar blended into one harmonious song — the kind of contentment he sings about in the swirling majesty of his single “Livin’ the Dream.” Drake White

“We grew up free. We grew up on 4-wheelers, riding through the backwoods,” he says. “We grew up hunting and fishing and being out in the Appalachian Mountains. People don’t understand how beautiful north Alabama is until you see it in person.”

Drake White

Save for “Livin’ the Dream,” White wrote or co-wrote the remaining 11 tracks on Spark, working with red-hot producers Ross Copperman and Jeremy Stover through the process. He also brought in his own band for a handful of tracks to capture the energy of his live shows.

The first sound on Spark — before the pulse-quickening “Heartbeat” kicks into gear — is the voice of White’s late grandfather speaking from the pulpit. Several of these ghostly transmissions from the past appear on Spark, all extolling the virtues of love, brotherhood and nature. It’s a touch of the surreal that nods at White’s fondness for Pink Floyd’s psychedelic masterpiece The Wall, but also a deeply personal gesture that matches his vision perfectly.

“I went through about five or six sermons of my grandfather and picked out certain little snippets,” he says. “I just think they kind of fit. They’re weird and people are asking what they are. And that was my point: to get people talking about it.”

White has his own message of finding some harmony amid the demands of modern life, one that goes down easy in the uplifting, Zac Brown Band-assisted Southern rock anthem “Back to Free” and the cautionary-but soulful “I Need Real.” It’s a simple message of not letting oneself be swallowed up by technology and seeking out honest, genuine connections with others.

“When I’m at home, my wife and I keep our phones in the bedroom,” says White. “We listen to records. We hardly turn the TV on, unless it’s time for Game of Thrones. Before social networking was a smartphone app, we did it around a fire. That goes way back.”

With his gospel-derived, passionate delivery, White seems to have inherited his grandfather’s ability to touch crowds with a sermon — his divine vocal improvisations at the end of the honky-tonk flavored “Story” will undoubtedly get butts out of seats. White stresses that he isn’t a preacher, but doesn’t see a problem with putting his own methods for surviving the world out there.

“Some of the best songs, like Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” or anything by Bob Marley, have a little bit of preachin’,” he says. “I never want to come across too preachy, but instead I’m saying, ‘Hey man, this is my life, and this is what I do to be happy and I’m figuring it out just like you.’” Drake White

Spark covers an entire spectrum of emotions beyond these statements of character and self-definition. In “Making Me Look Good Again,” White cruises on an R&B-style groove to express his gratitude for his better half, while “Waiting on the Whiskey to Work” finds him embodying a man spun out on love and heartbreak. Then in the tropically-themed “Equator,” he flies south to give his nomadic side a little time to play.

“This record is about balance. It’s me asking, where’s that boy I used to be? Oh yeah, we gotta go get him back,” he says. “We gotta go on a hike or camping or grab my wife and go to some foreign country. I gotta feel alive. I gotta go out there and do that.” Drake White

Long a respected live entertainer with his (appropriately named) band the Big Fire, White’s climb to the limelight hasn’t been a straight or uncomplicated one. Rather than blowing up right away with a big debut single, he’s toiled on the road for years, giving jaw-dropping performances night after night and making believers one show at a time. “There are many different paths.

QUINN XCII: The Story of Us Part II Tour w/ Special Guest Chelsea Cutler

**THIS SHOW HAS BEEN MOVED FROM SKULLY’S TO THE BLUESTONe! PREVIOUSlY PURCHASED TICKETS WILL BE HONORED AT THE DOOR.**

AGES: 16+

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

>>>MUSIC: https://soundcloud.com/quinnxcii

ABOUT THE ARTIST
2017 has been a breakout year for the newcomer Detroit singer/songwriter, Quinn XCII. With his ability to seamlessly blur the lines between pop, electronic, hip-hop, and soul music, he has quickly paved his own lane with his unique sound.

An early mixtape release turned heads, but it was his debut EP Change of Scenery, released in 2015, that put Quinn XCII on the map, connecting with the blogosphere and snaring millions of online streams. His follow-up EP release, Bloom, cemented his ability to meld styles and write about more varied subject matter. Next it was his featured vocals on “Kings of Summer”, a collaboration with longtime friend and producer ayokay (with whom he also exclusively worked with on his first two EPs), that started to bring him to the mainstream. The song became the sleeper summer hit of 2016, reaching #1 on Spotify’s Global Viral Charts, #1 on HypeMachine, accumulating over 65 million plays on Spotify, and getting regular spins at Top 40 radio around the country.

Quinn XCII’s debut album The Story of Us, was released on September 15 via Columbia Records. The album debuted at #6 on iTunes’ Pop Chart and is led by his standout single “Straightjacket,” which was named SoundCloud’s “Song of the Month” and has accumulated more than 23 million streams on Spotify. After selling out his entire 28-city national headline tour this Fall in support of the album, he will kick off 2018 by touring the album throughout Europe and across North America again this Spring.

Tickets: After completing your purchase on Eventbrite, you will receive an email confirmation with your attached PDF ticket(s). You MUST print and bring your PDF tickets AND VALID PHOTO IDENTIFICATION to be admitted for the event. The name on the tickets do not have to match the ID so long as the barcode is scannable. PSG is not responsible if ticket(s) cannot be scanned and the order is under a different name than the person presenting the ticket.

Change names on your tickets here.

Transfer/Change your ticket type here.

FAQ: http://primesocial.com/faq/

Steel Panther Live December 9th, 2021 7 PM

The Bluestone

Columbus, Ohio

https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/05005B59EDEA422F

Steel Panther is headed to Columbus, OH to The Bluestone December 9, 2021.

Tickets on sale Friday, October 29 at 10 AM!

• Website: http://www.steelpantherrocks.com/
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/steelpanther
• Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Steel_Panther
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/SteelPanther
• YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/SteelPantherVEVO

About Steel Panther

For the uninitiated, Steel Panther was formed in 2000. Hailing from Los Angeles, the epicenter for rock n’ roll in all its debauchery and glamour, Steel Panther has established themselves as the world’s premier party band, melding hard rock virtuosity with parody and criminally good looks. Steel Panther is a global phenomenon with four full-length albums, touring across the world, platinum-level You Tube status and high-profile television appearances such as Jimmy Kimmel Live, Larry King Now, and FOX NFL Sunday.

Rolling Stone avowed, “There’s a reason Steel Panther have transcended their origins as a cover band playing the Sunset Strip,” while Metal Sucks declared, Steel Panther’s concept is genius…their songwriting is…preposterously snappy –and relatable.

Dillon Carmichael

March 31, 2022 7 PM

at The Bluestone

Columbus, Ohio

About Dillon Carmichael:

FOR DILLON CARMICHAEL, THE LAST THREE YEARS HAVE BEEN A WHIRLWIND, TO SAY THE LEAST.

Since unleashing his critically acclaimed 2018 debut, Hell On An Angel, he’s toured with everyone from Lynyrd Skynyrd and Trace Adkins to Dwight Yoakam and Justin Moore, written a song for Travis Tritt’s latest album, racked up millions of streams on Spotify, gone viral on TikTok, and even gotten engaged. And while you might have expected the cancellation of a year’s worth of tour dates to finally slow him down, Carmichael instead used his pandemic downtime to head right back into the studio and record Hot Beer, a brand new collection of high-energy, feel-good country.

“I felt like my catalog could use a little more fun in it,” says Carmichael. “After putting out a record as heavy as Hell On An Angel, I wanted to make something faster, something looser, something that’d leave you with a smile on your face.”

Recorded with producers Jon Pardi and Ryan Gore, Dan Huff, and Phil O’Donnell, Hot Beer is all sly humor and raw heart, with tongue-in-cheek lyrics and double entendres lurking around every corner. Carmichael’s rich, velvety baritone is still very much front and center here, but there’s a newfound playfulness to his delivery that manages to offer up a knowing wink even as it breaks your heart. It’s a delicate tightrope for any artist to walk, but if Hot Beer proves anything, it’s that Dillon Carmichael is a songwriter who knows how to take his fun seriously.

“Whether I’m singing a tear jerker or a party tune, the only thing that really matters to me is that it’s a great song,” Carmichael says. “And great songs are honest songs.”

Growing up in the small town of Burgin, KY, Carmichael inherited his passion for honest music through familial osmosis: his father and uncles performed in a Southern Gospel Quartet, his mother sang all over the eastern part of the state, and her brothers (John Michael and Eddie Montgomery) both enjoyed massive chart success. As a kid, Carmichael fell in love with country legends like Waylon Jennings and Vern Gosdin alongside the rock and roll he heard on the radio, and by the time he hit his teens, he was writing his own songs and performing live.

“I didn’t at any point consciously decide I was going to be a musician,” says Carmichael. “It just happened naturally. I found a kind of truth in country music that I couldn’t get anywhere else.”

After finishing high school, Carmichael relocated to Nashville, where he earned a publishing deal at the tender age of 18. It was his first taste of life outside of rural Kentucky, and the discovery of a whole city full of like-minded artists whose lives revolved around making music thrilled him. Buoyed by his early success, Carmichael began collaborating all over town with some of most revered writers in the business, but no Nashville resident had a bigger influence on him than producer Dave Cobb, whose stewardship helped guide Hell On An Angel from a dream to a reality.

“Dave just immediately understood my vision,” says Carmichael. “He helped me zero in on my truth.”

Merging a sonically progressive palette with a tasteful reverence for the past, Hell On An Angel was at once old school and modern, traditional and contemporary, timeless and timely. The New York Times compared Carmichael to Randy Travis and said his voice “moves with the heft and certainty of a tractor-trailer,” while NPR praised his “deep holler,” and Parade raved that “Carmichael defines pure country.” He landed on Artist To Watch lists from Billboard, Rolling Stone, Taste of Country, Pandora, and more, reached #2 at country radio’s Most Added chart with his debut single, “Dancing Away With My Heart,” and electrified festival crowds from Seven Peaks to Faster Horses.

“One of the things I learned getting to play big festivals and arenas and theaters was that it doesn’t matter if there’s 200 people or 20,000 people in the audience,” says Carmichael. “They’re there to hear country music and have a good time. It’s that simple.”

And so Carmichael began plotting his follow-up to Hell On Angel with those good times in mind. Reaching back to the lighthearted 90s country that had always held a special place in his heart, he began cutting a series of lively, uptempo, sometimes hilarious tunes full of mischief and innuendo. Lead single “Hot Beer,” written by Carmichael’s good friend HARDY, rattles off a list of everything the singer would rather do than get back together with his cheating ex (“I’d rather drink a hot beer / Build a fire in the pouring rain / Burn all of my fishing gear / Then set sail in a hurricane”), while the anthemic “Big Truck,” written with David Lee Murphy and Jessi Alexander, questions the true source of his partner’s affection, and the bawdy “Sawin’ Logs” spins a tale of two lovers on very different pages.

“Phil sent me that song last year and it was our summer jam,” says Carmichael. “We rocked out to it all the time, and I posted an acoustic version to TikTok just for fun one day. It ended up getting millions and millions of views and everyone started singing along to it at my shows, so I knew I had to record it.”

Not everything on Hot Beer is quite so irreverent, though. The sweetly sincere “Since You’ve Been In It” celebrates the kind of love that makes everything better; the bittersweet “Somewhere She Ain’t” reckons with the ghosts of a lost love that just won’t fade away; and the grateful “Lucky Man” takes stock of the little things that add up to a beautiful life.

“My uncle Eddie originally recorded ‘Lucky Man’ with Troy Gentry back in 2006,” says Carmichael, “and I thought putting my own spin on it would be a nice nod to my family legacy, as well as a tribute to Troy, who passed away in 2017. I’ve loved that song ever since I heard them sing it for the first time, and I’m honored be able to share my version of it.”

With live music returning and his calendar filling up once more, Dillon Carmichael is indeed a lucky man. And with Hot Beer, it’s clear he’s ready to dive back into the whirlwind and have some serious fun.

COVID-19:

The Bluestone does not require COVID Vaccinations to enter our venue. We follow all local guidelines and cleaning procedures. The current Columbus “Mask Mandate” for an indoor event does not apply to anyone who is “ACTIVELY EATING OR DRINKING.” We kindly ask that you enter the building with a mask on. You can keep it on or remove it as long as you are actively EATING OR DRINKING! This will be a full capacity show, and it is an “ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK EVENT.”

Whitey Morgan and the 78’s

with Alex Williams

April 10, 2022 7 PM

at The Bluestone

Columbus, Ohio

About Whitey Morgan:
In a career spanning 15 years, Morgan has released five studio albums and a live recording from his hometown of Flint, Michigan. Additionally, he has toured relentlessly averaging over 125 shows annually. Rolling Stone has described him as a “Waylon Jennings acolyte.. modern day outlaw [with a] hard hitting blue-collar brand of music” while NPR Music hailed, “Staying close to the sound and subject matter of classic outlaw artists like Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and David Allan Coe, Morgan is poised to lead this hand-worn brand of country to the next generation.” His most recent LP, Sonic Ranch (2015), was released to critical acclaim and praised by Detroit Free Press as, “a bold well-crafted album that doesn’t forsake the gritty undercurrent running through Morgan’s stuff.”

Whitey Morgan and the 78’s anticipated new album, self-produced by Morgan, was recorded in the Neve Room at famed Sonic Ranch Studios in Tornillo, Texas. Featured on the record are collaborations with acclaimed songwriters Travis Meadows and Ward Davis plus a cover of ZZ Top’s “Just Got Paid.” Alongside Morgan, the 78’s consist of Brett Robinson (pedal steel guitar), Joey Spina (guitar), Alex Lyon (bass) and Eric Savage (drums).

Of the recording, Morgan shares, “It’s not like my vision happened overnight. I’ve been chipping away at it forever. It’s slowly evolving and it’s going in a little bit different direction. It’s not so straightforward anymore. This record definitely has a wider path, it’s broader, but it still sounds like a Whitey Morgan record.” With grandparents from Tennessee and Kentucky and hometown roots in Flint, Michigan, Morgan’s family geography has factored into his approach to music.

Dorothy

ft. Joyous Wolf & Classless Act

April 24, 2022 6 PM

at The Bluestone

Columbus, Ohio

DOROTHY

Gifts From The Holy Ghost 

Roc Nation

Dorothy Martin’s life changed forever when she was forced to face death on her tour bus some three years ago. After her guitar technician had taken an overdose, and the light began to lift up and out from his body, Dorothy instinctively began praying for his survival. While he may have temporarily died, the technician was astonishingly, miraculously restored back to life as Dorothy and her crew formed a prayer circle near his body. It was this moment that seemed to bring Dorothy to life too. She was gifted a rebirth with a divine intervention that caused a radical and spiritual awakening in the singer, the result of which can be heard on Gifts From The Holy Ghost, Dorothy’s third studio album as front woman for the pseudonymous, blues-rock band Dorothy. 

Gifts From The Holy Ghost is the album she’s always wanted, and has perhaps been destined to make. Born from a sense of divine urgency, it is Dorothy’s most bombastic and gloriously, victorious rock and roll work yet. Each song built on triumph—the unshackling of chains, the slaying of demons with a sword of light—the album is a healing and remedial experience, made to unify listeners and point them towards a life full of purpose. It is Dorothy’s greatest gift yet.  “This album had to get made, I felt like I had a mission,” she said. 

While the band’s first, irreverently named album ROCKISDEAD, was made on a combination of whiskey and heartbreak—inspiring Rolling Stone to name them one of rock’s most exciting new acts, and Jay-Z to sign them to his label Roc Nation—Gifts was built on recovery, health, and holiness, in a way that reverses the clichéd ‘good girl gone bad narrative’. 

With the combined powers of Keith Wallen, Jason Hook, Scott Stevens, Phil X, Trevor Lukather, Joel Hamilton and the legendary ear of Chris Lord Alge, Gifts From The Holy Ghost is made from a musical palette which seems to encompass each of the musician’s influences, as well as many of the essential sounds of rock music’s history—from swampy blues to ‘90s alternative —in a way that makes the case for rock and roll itself. Not only is the genre alive, but it’s more invigorated than ever.

“I think this album is going to speak to a lot of people, it’s meant to be healing, unifying, eye-opening, ear-opening, heart-opening and celebratory,” Dorothy said, adding: “I wanted to make the realest album I could make, and I went in with the question does this make me feel alive? Does it make me feel free? If a song didn’t give me chills or make my heart soar, then it didn’t make the cut.”

Born in Budapest, Hungary, Dorothy has always been an instinctual writer and artist. Throughout her life, she’s been asking the big questions, both in and outside her art: ‘What’s the meaning of life? Why are we here? How are we here?’ When she couldn’t find the answers to those questions, she’d numb out the empty uncertainty with drugs and alcohol. She was eventually admitted to rehab and a new chapter was opened in her spiritual journey. Now, with angels whispering in her ear and the spirit moving her steps, she’s found her answers. “I’m just here to impart inspiring messages to people while having fun and rocking out!”

You can hear Dorothy’s powerful resilience across the album, particularly on “Big Guns”, which finds the singer at her boldest; sauntering over slide guitars as she steps into combat. Anthems like “Rest In Peace” bring a sweeping cinematic scope to the album, whereas “Black Sheep”, a rallying cry for unity, explodes with layered gang vocals: “we are blood, we are family,” Dorothy breaks curses, going toe-to-toe with the blistering guitar riffs. 

The album’s lyrics are a perfect balance of specificity and generality, so that the listener can attach their own darknesses and triumphs to the songs, while still getting a sense of Dorothy’s own. “We are all one human family.” she declares. 

Does that mean Dorothy has overcome all of her own adversities? “It’s a journey and it’s about progress not perfection,” she responds. “I’ve had a lot of deep revelations about my life, stuff I hadn’t been able to cope with until now. Now I’m learning new tools.” With Gifts From The Holy Ghost, Dorothy identifies her purpose as an artist. She conquers darkness with light, numbness with feeling, disharmony with unity—all while delivering one of this year’s most fun rock & roll records.

Joyous Wolf Bio

A gritty howl opens Joyous Wolf’s upcoming debut LP, Enigma, and it’s the perfect introduction since the band plays rock & roll at its most primal and passionate. Guitarist Blake Allard’s bluesy riffs harken back to the classic hard rock of AC/DC, Cream and Deep Purple while still packing a thoroughly modern wallop, while frontman Nick Reese’s voice seems to come from deep in his gut as he sings about everything from warring kingdoms to a tribute to a fallen friend. Together, with bassist Greg Braccio and drummer Robert Sodaro, Joyous Wolf’s members work together to create some of the most exciting, promising and unwieldy back-to-basics rock to come out of Southern California in recent years.

Whether nimbly navigating the swaggering, powerful groove of their go-to concert opener, “Mountain Man,” or digging into their instruments for a jammy, funky guitar solo “Major Headthrob,” the group has an unpredictable quality – a sort of unique freedom within rock & roll – that makes Enigma compelling. Part of the credit for this goes to producer Val Garay (Santana, Neil Diamond, Reel Big Fish) who came aboard at the last minute to help them achieve the record’s raw sound, which captures how Joyous Wolf sound live. But mostly, the electric feeling that defines Enigma is just something in the band’s DNA.

“When I’m playing rock & roll, it’s the only time where I feel indestructible,” Reese says. “When I heard Elvis sing ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ for the first time, I knew exactly what my heart wanted and what I wanted.”

“I think people are starting to realize the overproduction and fakeness of pop music, which is why rock is coming back,” Allard says. “We love being a rock band.” Joyous Wolf formed in November 2014, but their roots stretch back to sixth grade when Reese first crossed paths with Sodaro by fate – they had to assemble next to each other because their names were alphabetically side-by-side. Reese recalls a middle-school battle of the bands where neither he nor Sodaro was playing, but Reese declared that one day he was going to be “the best singer ever” and that Sodaro would play drums. It would take a few years, but after stints where both musicians duked it out playing in punk and alternative bands (“all of that crap,” Reese adds) they fulfilled Reese’s prophecy. The singer drafted Allard, whom he’d met randomly in the acoustic room at a Guitar Center when the two jammed on CCR’s “Born on the Bayou,” and Sodaro brought in his high-school friend Braccio to play bass. 

Before long, the quartet was jamming in Sodaro’s folks’ garage, annoying the neighbors and entertaining the local authorities. “Once on Halloween, we were rehearsing at 11 p.m. writing songs, and we faced Nick’s monitors out the window toward a canyon full of houses,” Allard recalls. “Then we saw this car at the front gate, and it’s the sheriff. He comes into the practice room and goes, ‘Hey guys, I hate to shut you down because it sounds really good, but we got a complaint from across the canyon that it was too loud.’ We still practice but not like that anymore.”

One of the first songs they played together was “Sleep Weep Stomp,” Enigma’s slow-burning, sludgy blues burner. It’s the style of music that Reese feels closest to. “I’m a blues singer, 100 percent,” he says. “That’s my everything.” The singer grew up on blues, jazz, and Fifties rock & roll. “When my dad showed me, Elvis, that was the end of it,” he says. “I needed to hear every artist that inspired Elvis and then the people who inspired them. Suddenly I had a record collection. It all felt natural: B.B. King made me want to scream my pain away. You hear all these people and you want to express all the things you love. I don’t care if people think it’s old or not current. It doesn’t matter to me.” By his own estimation, he didn’t hear anything “current” until he was 13 and borrowed his sister’s Discman only to hear the Strokes’ “Is This It”. Similarly, Allard was raised on classic rock. “My dad taught me my first song ever, ‘Sunshine of Your Love,’ by Cream,” he says. “I always went back to that kind of old blues-rock music. Even if I was into metal or hard rock, I always went back to the classics like B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin.”

These influences shine through on Enigma. “Killing the Messenger” begins with some crushing classic heavy-metal riffs before giving way to a boogieing verse riff where Sodaro and Braccio can bash out their rhythms freely while Reese yowls a tale about two warring kingdoms, and how an evil monarch tricks one of his most popular subjects into delivering a nasty message to the other kingdom only so he would be executed. Reese says the moral Is “life isn’t fair and it isn’t always a happy ending.” The beat-heavy “Mountain Man,” whose lyrics lambaste one of Reese’s former less-than-refined coworkers at a coffee shop, whom the singer says claimed he could “carve a knife out of the tree,” began with a guitar riff that was so forceful that the band couldn’t deny its power. “He had this little riff and we were laughing because it was so stupid-simple,” Reese says. “And it is. It’s our quote-unquote ‘dumbest song,’ but when we used it to open at the Viper Room, the audience response became one of our staple songs.”

The band is also able to channel more somber tones. The acoustic “Remember By” showcases thoughtful performances by both Allard and Reese, who wrote the song in tribute to a friend of his who had taken his own life. It came from a moment of pure inspiration. “I recorded us when we were fooling around, and it was perfect,” Reese says. “I pushed for us to record that song so hard. I said, ‘Please do it exactly like you did it. Please.’ That was me saying goodbye.”After they put out their Daisy EP in late 2015, it took the band about two years total to fine-tune and perfect Enigma. And while songwriting was a big chunk of that (the ominous riff for “Turning Blue” took them six months to perfect), they went through several passes of mixing and mastering it to get it to sound like it does. When Garay finally came aboard, they were able to establish the right mixture of nuance and directness. “It’s so much more animal,” Reese says, using the perfect adjective, to describe the way Enigma turned out. That “animal” sound has earned Joyous Wolf some notable gigs, including performances at L.A.’s famed Whisky a Go-Go, the Viper Room and the Regent Theater, where they recently opened for Eagles of Death Metal. Now they’re ready to move on to even bigger stages. “When we play a show, we go out and we kick ass,” Reese says, sounding confident. “We’re headhunters”. Headhunting on the road will now be even easier, with their upcoming record Enigma, an album that demonstrates what Reese calls Joyous Wolf’s “mojo.” – Kory Grow Rolling Stone Magazine 2017

Classless Act Bio

When they released their debut single “Give It To Me” in the summer of 2021, Classless Act were immediately praised for their ability to sound both fresh and timeless. Loudwire instantly added the song to their “Weekly Wire” Spotify playlist, identifying it as one of the top new releases of the summer. And other iconic outlets, like SPIN Magazine, were early to show support. It was a fitting public introduction to a band who embody what it means to be modern rock stars.

The band – consisting of members Derek Day (Vocals), Dane Pieper (Guitar), Griffin Tucker (Guitar), Franco Gravante (Bass), and Chuck McKissock (Drums) – initially formed in 2018 after connecting and bonding virtually by their love and passion of music. Now in Los Angeles, they’ve united on a mission to be the next great generation-defining act, drawing inspiration from classic rock acts of the 70’s and alt-rock groups from the 90’s. Their music echoes the hallmarks of previous generations – anthemic rhythms, shreddy guitars, soaring vocals – but punches its way into the future with clever arrangements, sharp musicianship, and proficient songwriting.

Already making noise in the industry, the band has been in the studio with world-class producers like Bob Rock, Michael Beinhorn and Joe Chiccarrelli, who have helped craft hits for the likes of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Soundgarden, and The White Stripes. The band recently landed a deal with Better Noise Music, Mediabase and Billboard’s #1 rock label for 2020. Their debut album is expected in 2022, when the band will be hitting the road with Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, and more, on their Summer Stadium Tour.

Matt Stell

w/ George Birge

November 17, 2022 8 PM

Doors Open 7 PM

at The Bluestone

Columbus, Ohio

About Matt Stell:

THE COUNTRY MUSIC INDUSTRY HAS LONG BEEN FILLED WITH ITS SHARE OF CHARACTERS. FROM WILLIE TO HANK AND DOLLY TO WAYLON, EVERY LEGEND STARTS OUT AS JUST ANOTHER ARTIST THAT DOESN’T FIT EASILY INTO SOME PREDETERMINED BOX. AND AS HARD AS COUNTRY MUSIC MAY TRY TO FIT MATT STELL INTO ONE OF THOSE TRIED AND TRUE BOXES, IT’S DARN NEAR IMPOSSIBLE.

Heck, he’s 6’7.

But more so than the massive physique that helped Stell become a collegiate basketball standout, the Platinum certified singer has proven via the songs he sings and the shows he puts on that he is far too powerful of an artist to ever fit into some sort of singular category. In fact, to describe Stell in a few words would be a complete disservice to the man he is and the artist he looks to become as he releases his new EP Better Than That on October 16.

“If you cut a groove too deep, it’s hard to get out of it,” he remarks with a chuckle. “I’ve never wanted to be some one-dimensional artist, and with this new EP, I think I’m determined to show that there is much more to me than just a guy who can sing a love song.”

Indeed, the Arkansas native comes from a long line of self proclaimed badasses. He can spin a romantic verse as easy as he can rock out an anthem. He can overanalyze a word as easily as he can let the melody ride a lyrical wave. And yes, he gets as much enjoyment out of discovering a hook in the writing room as he does hooking a fish.

“When you step out into that river and the salmon are still swimming upstream like they have for thousands of years, it’s a real cathartic, therapeutic thing for me,” he says of a recent fishing trip to Alaska. “It’s a great reset.”

In everything he does, it’s evident that Stell is reflective and adventurous and funny and pretty damn smart. And if he’s being totally honest with himself, he’s never been one to love a love song.

Yep, you heard that right.

Granted, it was in fact a love song that catapulted Stell to country music success in 2019 via his massive hit “Prayed for You,” a life-changer of a song that spent two weeks at the number one spot. As the only debut single to top Billboard’s Country Airplay chart in 2019, and one of NSAI’s “10 Songs We Wish We’d Written,” the hit has gone on to rack up some impressive stats with over 270 million streams, his first RIAA Platinum certification and more than 20 million views of its official music video to date.

But there’s a catch.

“If the only thing you’ve heard is ‘Prayed for You,’ you would have a different idea of who I really am,” Stell explains. “Knowing that you are making music that means something to people is the ultimate compliment, but there is so much more to me.”

A few more of the many facets of Stell are currently on display via his current top 10 and rising single “Everywhere But On,” a song that Stell calls ‘autobiographical’ in the way that it tells the story of a man trying to escape the memories of a long lost love.

“Having two songs on the radio is an incredible thing, but what’s even more incredible is finding your own voice and your own identity,” he says.

Stell showcased a whole bunch of identities in another Better Than That EP standout – “If I Was a Bar.” At a time when some of his fellow artists were perfectly content in simply sitting down with their guitar and playing their songs during the pandemic that Stell lovingly refers to as a ‘damn biological hurricane,’ Stell and his rather relentless work ethic turned out a music video that had him playing thirteen different roles in the span of a 3-plus minute song.

“I threw every stitch of clothing I have ever owned into my truck for that video shoot,” laughs Stell of the somewhat restrictive project. “Sometimes creativity benefits from constraints.”

Yet, there were few constraints on Stell’s songwriting during the creation of the new Better Than That EP, which was co-produced by Stell alongside Ash Bowers. Via songs co-written by Stell such as “I Love You Too,” “Chase It Down” and the title track “Better Than That,” the listener can still hear Stell’s distinctive way of wrapping a lyric around a memory and the twist he can put on a phrase.

“Songwriting is a craft that can get better the more time you put into it,” remarks Stell, as he laments to himself about how much he hates clichés.

But for the first time in his still evolving career, Stell relied on outside writers on three of the eight tracks of the Better Than That EP in an effort to fill in the blanks of the overall project.

One of those cuts is “Sadie,” a melodic brain-buster of a song that offers ‘a sparse lyric but one in which every word means something.’ Another outside cut is “Look At Me Now,” perhaps one of the most earth-shattering love songs in recent memory. Yes, the guy who says love songs aren’t his thing just might make history with yet another love song.

But before Stell looks too far into the future, he finds his soul planted deeply in the present. He is praying for the day he can plug his amp back in and jump on the bus with his band and play these new songs for a live crowd.

This new chapter in his journey leaves Stell with a whole bunch more ammunition in the writing room and a unique vantage point to view the characters in his songs…and the character he might ultimately turn out to be.