Brett Hughes and His Honky Tonk Crowd at Summervale!
This week at Summervale we have Brett Hughes and His Honky Tonk Crowd taking the stage! Brett Hughes has long been prominent in the Burlington music scene-- hosting Honky Tonk Tuesday at Radio Bean for over 10 years and collaborating with countless bands both near and far. Check out an exclusive interview with Brett Hughes below, and we will see you on Thursday!
1. How long have you been playing together? How did this group start?
The band grew out of the regular Honky Tonk Tuesday nights at Burlington's Radio Bean—I hosted the night for over 10 years, and there were several iterations of the line-up, but this band is made up of most of the regulars from the last half of that run.
2. Do you mostly do covers, or do you write music as well? If you write music, what is your songwriting process like?
I write a lot of songs, and we do mostly original music in our set. That said, we have favorite old honky tonk songs we make a part of the show and we love to rock 'em out... I recorded an album of my original songs in Nashville earlier this year. I'm hoping to release it in the late Fall.
3. What influences your music? What kind of inspiration do you draw from living in the Burlington area?
I've been in all kinds of bands and have listened to all kinds of music, but the old-school barroom honky tonk music informs this batch of songs and this band. When I started doing Honky Tonk Tuesday, I wanted to make sure there was a place for this music, and an opportunity for people who weren't really familiar with it to came around and dig it (like I do!). Burlington is a ripe incubator for all kinds of songs, and once we got our feet under us, we felt a great deal of support in this tremendously diverse music scene.
4. Describe your sound in 3 words:
Lyin' Cheatin' Lovin'
5. Who influences your music? What artists inspire you?
George Jones, Merle Haggard, Del Reeves, The Everly Brothers, The Delmore Brothers, Bill Monroe, Jimmy Martin, Ralph Stanley, Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Joe Strummer, PJ Harvey, Johnny Cash, Charlie Rich, Johnny Horton, my mom.
6. Why are you excited about performing at Summervale?
It's ALWAYS great. It is the quintessential Vermont Summer evening, with families and friends enjoying music and food together in this, the very shortest, sweetest of seasons...