Hayseed Dixie began in the summer of 2000 in the fertile valley of Deer Lick Holler, deep in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains of East Tennessee USA. In this area which was completely isolated from outside cultural and musical influence, the boys grew up playing the traditional music of their forefathers on banjo, fiddle, mandolin, acoustic guitar and acoustic bass.
All of this changed abruptly one afternoon when a stranger crashed his car into a stately old oak tree on a particularly dangerous curve, which the locals refer to as the “Devil’s Elbow.” Sadly, the stranger expired, but his legacy lives on! As the boys searched through the wreckage looking for identification, they discovered several vinyl AC/DC albums. After playing these back on an old Edison 78rpm Victrola, everyone agreed that the songs were rather fine country music . . . and that the ‘Lost Highway’ of Brother Hank Williams and this ‘Highway To Hell’ of AC/DC were indeed the exact same road! And the rest is now enshrined in musical history.
Hayseed Dixie are now the acknowledged creators of the musical genre, Rockgrass. They have released 15 albums since 2001, consisting of both original material and reinterpretations of previously rendered songs, selling a combined total of over 500,000 copies. They have also performed over 1,000 live shows in 31 different countries.
Most recently, Hayseed Dixie are exploring the inspired catalogue of the stadium rock of the 1970’s and 1980’s. This interest began during a 2014 Spring tour of Germany, in which the band heard the song ‘Eye of the Tiger’ 6 different times on 6 different German radio stations in a single day while driving between Dortmund and Frankfurt. “As the seed is planted, so the tree shall grow” – this very quote appears on the inner sleeve of the 1980 album Escape by Journey. How true indeed.
Artists’ website: www.hayseed-dixie.com
Classic Hayseed Dixie:
Press Quotes:
“The Hayseed’s berserk hedonism is indeed refreshing! ***** (5 Stars)” – The Guardian
“Hayseed Dixie highlights the worth of mountain music to all things rock: energy, dirt-punk rhythm, careening harmonies and the fundamental right of all no-good fuck-ups to raise hell come Saturday night.” – Uncut
“Superlative musicians with a deep love and understanding of the dynamics of both modern rock and ancient hillbilly music” – The Times
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