Artist: BR549
Waxed - Record Review from Issue #61 Jan-Feb 2006
BR549 – Dog Days
You knew a band as seasoned as BR549 would recover from another lineup change without missing a beat, and sure enough, Dog Days, produced by John Keane, picks up where 2004′s Tangled In The Pines left off despite the departure of guitarist Chris Scruggs and bassist Geoff Firebaugh (who themselves were replacements). Principal songwriters Chuck [...]
The Long Way Around - Feature from Issue #50 March-April 2004
BR549 – Back to Broadway
BR549 found its future by returning to its past. Forced to reconsider the band’s prospects when two key members departed at the end of 2001, the remaining members of BR549 put things on hold instead of hanging it up. Rumors circulated that the band was finished, and no one involved corrected or confirmed them. “We [...]
Waxed - Record Review from Issue #44 March-April 2003
BR549 – Temporarily Disconnected
Don’t let the title fool you. On its first release with a new lineup, BR549 is connected as strongly as ever with the honky-tonk sound of yesteryear. The three originals and two covers that make up this EP showcase the band’s shift away from the more slick production of their recent recordings and toward a [...]
Miked - Live Reviews from Issue #42 Nov-Dec 2002
BR549 – Johnny D.’s (Somerville, MA)
The dilemma facing BR549 is a credibility problem: With two original members gone, can this be considered the same group? Taking the stage at Johnny D.’s with Chris Scruggs (yes, he’s related) replacing founding partner Gary Bennett on guitar and vocals, and Jeff Firebaugh taking the place of Smilin’ Jay McDowell on slap bass, BR549 [...]
Waxed - Record Review from Issue #34 July-Aug 2001
BR549 – This Is BR549
On May 17, the day of its grand reopening in a stunning new building, I toured the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. There’s much to quibble with inside regarding omissions and emphases, but maybe that’s just how it is when you’re dealing with something as rich and varied as country [...]
The Long Way Around - Feature from Issue #16 July-Aug 1998
BR5-49 – Touch Acts To Follow
It’s the eve of a stormy Memorial Day weekend, high in the Clinch Mountains of Southwestern Virginia. Jimmy Martin’s enormous green tour bus has just barged its way up the winding road to Ralph Stanley’s Hills of Home park, a rough and tumble campground, surrounded by lush, knobby hills and weathered chain link. Hand-painted plywood [...]
Miked - Live Reviews from Issue #8 March-April 1997
BR5-49 – Johnny D’s (Boston, MA)
I always jokingly refer to Boston as the alternative-country capital of the United States. You see, we don’t have much of that hip twang up here. We’ve got a lot of alternative rock, hardcore, folk (boy, do we have folk — yawn), and even some good bluegrass. What we don’t have is the grange. The [...]
Waxed - Record Review from Issue #5 Sept-Oct 1996
BR5-49 – Self-Titled
By now you’ve probably seen the hype about this Nashville band, everywhere from CMJ (College Music Journal) to JCM (Journal Of Country Music). When I heard Live At Robert’s, an EP the band released earlier this year, I was a little put off: They had that great Johnny Horton honky-tonk sound down cold, but the [...]
Waxed - Record Review from Issue #4 Summer 1996
BR5-49 – Live from Robert’s (EP)
All kinds of ink has been spilled recently heralding this Nashville combo as a welcome return to a time when country music could be found in its rawest and purest form — and totally line-dance free. And after listening to the band’s debut, Live At Robert’s, there’s no questioning the members’ passionate reverence for the [...]
Town and Country - Shorter Artist Feature from Issue #3 Spring 1996
BR5-49 – Honky-tonk heroes of the western world
In the shadow of the new metroplex behemoth (what one distinguished local has dubbed “Y’all Hall”) emerging from a block-wide hole lies a serious strip of American music history. Known as Lower Broad, this is where giants once walked among us, stomping on the terra from the back door of the Opry to Tootsie’s World [...]
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