Music Highlights: Sunny Ledfurd, Mark Knight with Matt Abts, Evelynn Rose
Sunny Ledfurd
Saturday at The Windjammer
Sunny Ledfurd is a man of persistence. When every label he contacted throughout the early part of the 2000s turned him down, he created his own label. When he had trouble finding a good studio close to his home, he built his own. When the suits told him to tone down his lyrical content, he made it more graphic.
From the beginning, the North Carolina-based singer and songwriter was dead set on being completely honest with himself as well as his audience. Musically, Ledfurd's style is a broad collection of music styles that have influenced the songwriter over the years and range from country to hard rock to hip-hop.
Ledfurd says that his songs are "about 90 percent autobiographical" and focus on the underbelly of Southern living and culture. Songs like "Red Bull and Vodka," "I Don't Remember Last Night" and "Adderall (Powder in a Pill)" give a pretty accurate portrayal of the rural party scene that flows from small towns to the Atlantic coast where it pools in the Carolinas' most famous party strip, Myrtle Beach. Don't worry, Ledfurd has a song titled "Myrtle Beach" that covers his adventures there as well. Sunny Ledfurd will perform Saturday at the Windjammer, 1007 Ocean Blvd., with Ziggy Pockets & the Oddball Allstars. Tickets are $8 and can be purchased at the door or at www.the-windjammer.com. Doors open at 8 p.m., show starts at 9 p.m. Visit the Windjammer website or call 886-8596.
Mark Knight with Matt Abts, Mark Tremalgia and Paul Ill
Friday at the Pour House
Supergroups are always an exciting thing to catch. Having a band made up entirely of great individual musicians sounds like a no-brainer, but oftentimes the whole thing sinks before it can swim due to egos and creative differences. So, experiencing one that can actually float is pretty special.
Such is the case with Mark Knight's latest side-project Bone Rail Tight, a collaboration of Knight, Matt Abts, Mark Tremalgia and Paul Ill. Here's the backstory.
Mark Knight first rose to prominence as the guitarist for the funk/metal band Bang Tango in the late-'80s through the mid-'90s before going on to form the band Gravy with fellow former Bang Tango guitarist Mark Tremalgia.
Matt Abts is the Grammy-nominated and two-time Drummie Award-winning drummer of Gov't Mule, while Paul Ill is an esteemed session bassist whose talents have been sought out by the likes of Mick Taylor and Linda Perry.
Together, they will perform at the Pour House, 1977 Maybank Hwy., Friday with special guest Weigh Station. Tickets are $13 in advance, $15 the day of the show and are available at www.etix.com or at the door. Doors open at 8 p.m. while the show is set to begin at 9 p.m. Visit www.charlestonpourhouse.com or call 571-4343.
Evelynn Rose
Friday at Home Team BBQ
Don't be fooled by the name. Charlotte-based rock outfit Evelynn Rose is not a sweet, old lady or a cheap box wine. No, this Southern rock quartet is much darker than those first impressions could assume.
The band melds several styles to create one that seems to drift from one comparison to another depending on the listener and the song itself. At times, Evelynn Rose sounds as soulful and as pained as Ray Lamontagne fronting a Skynyrd tribute band. Then, on a song like "Everyone Knows", the band combines dual guitar riffs, plenty of distortion and angry gang vocals to create a whiskey-fueled punk-a-billy sound that quickly thunders into metal-inspired guitar solos.
Throughout the band's debut EP, one can smell the grease and exhaust of powerful, American steel roaring into overdrive and taste the whiskey burning in the back of the metaphorical throat of good Southern rock 'n' roll.
Evelynn Rose will perform Friday at Fiery Ron's Home Team BBQ, 1205 Ashley River Road., with 351 Cleveland. Tickets are $5 at the door. Show starts at 10 p.m. Visit www.hometeambbq.com or call 225-7427.
