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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 Triangle 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, Tennessee 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 breed of acoustic music.

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.

What began as a solo recording project has reached a sort of fruition in the Tennessee Jed Band. Touring in support of Acoustica, the band consists of road veterans, Eric Chesson (One Point Five, Wax Planet, Jason Michael Carroll), Jason Patrick (Jason Michael Carroll, Undercover Cowboys, Headbanger), Dave Markham (Bryan Davis), Joe Troop (Common World Collective, Big Fat Gap), and Elixir endorsee, Charlie Chamberlain (Steel String Theory, The Ranchhands). Also available as a solo, duo, or trio act for more intimate occasions, the Tennessee Jed Band’s unique blend of virtuosic bluegrass chops and rock swagger guarantee a good time for all at occasions ranging from loud rock’n’roll bars to quiet listening rooms.

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.