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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.
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’s critically acclaimed 2007 debut CD, Acoustica, brought together a veritable who’s-who list of established and up-and-coming stars in the rock, Americana, country, and bluegrass world, including Robert Sledge (Ben Folds Five), Andy Thorn (Larry Keel’s Natural Bridge, Emmitt-Nershi Band, Big Fat Gap), Nicky Sanders (Steep Canyon Rangers), Walt Hensey (Barefoot Manner), Nick Campbell (Jam Pain Society), and John T. Boulding (Shady Grove Band). Co-produced at The Rubber Room in Chapel Hill, NC by Jerry Brown (Doc Watson, Jack Lawrence, Steep Canyon Rangers, Red Clay Ramblers, Carolina Chocolate Drops), Acoustica boasts two songs co-written with Billboard’s Top New Male Country Artist of 2007 and Jed’s former band-mate, Jason Michael Carroll.
Since the release of Acoustica, Tennessee Jed has jumped onto the southeast US live music scene, having shared the stage with a wide variety of artists including The Marshall Tucker Band, The Duhks, The Infamous Stringdusters, Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band, and Chris Barron (singer of The Spin Doctors.) Past performances also include VIP tent sets with Alison Krauss and Union Station and Widespread Panic. Recently relocating to join his friends in the Asheville, NC music scene, Jed has begun work on his follow-up release, Barn Burner, which will feature 7 time IBMA banjo player of the year, Jim Mills of Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder. The Tennessee Jed Band is more of an extended family of musicians including, but not limited to: Eric Chesson (Wax Planet) - guitar, Charlie Chamberlain (Steel String Theory, The Ranchhands) - mandolin, Bobby Britt (Open Road, Big Fat Gap) - fiddle, Bongo John Metcalf (Zegg) - drums, percussion, Dave Markham - drums, percussion, Al Al Ingram (Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band) - bass, Jason Patrick (Jason Michael Carroll) - bass, Andy Thorn (Emmitt-Nershi Band, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, Big Fat Gap) - banjo, Joe Troop (Big Fat Gap, Town Mountain) - fiddle and banjo, and Jon Stickley (Shannon Whitworth, The Biscuit Burners, The Colorado Playboys) - mandolin.
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.
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