This weekend at The Windjammer, The Vegabonds, a rocking New South quintet from Nashville, will play a LOT of songs off of its new album, Young & Unafraid.
And then the band will probably play a lot more songs since it is also playing at Isle of Palms’ Windjammer on Saturday night to celebrate the album’s release.
The band, which formed in 2010 at Auburn University, has been touring hard through the years and has shared stages with Lynyrd Skynyrd, Gregg Allman, Blackberry Smoke, Lukas Nelson, Whiskey Myers and The Red Clay Strays, among others. So its members know there are plenty of places to play. But they chose to head to the Isle of Palms.
“We chose The Windjammer specifically (to debut the album) because it’s one of our favorites,” said Vegabonds singer/guitarist Danny Allen in a recent interview with the Charleston City Paper. “In fact, it’s my personal favorite venue in the whole country. We seem to have great crowds there every time we play, and the setting right there on the beach is unmatched.”
Bassist Paul Bruens also is a Windjammer fan.
“My favorite thing about it is that everyone that goes to that show is usually a die-hard fan,” he said on the same call. “They come from around the country to Charleston and the vibe is unmatched.”
Then Vegabonds’ drummer Bryan Harris jumped in with a more practical explanation for the two-night stand.
“I think the past two years when we’ve played, it’s been raining,” he said. “So hopefully, it won’t rain.”
New music for the New South
Fans can expect a deep dive into Young & Unafraid both nights. The album, produced by longtime Vegabonds collaborator Tom Tapley (Blackberry Smoke, Pearl Jam), tells stories of heartbreak and redemption, covering the highs and lows of youth in general and the band’s past decade on the road specifically.
“I don’t want to die with regret in my life,” Allen sings on the soaring opening anthem, “Where Do You Have To Be Tomorrow.” This kicks off a journey through ragged Southern rockers (“Till The Hurt Don’t Hurt”), heartbreaking Americana ballads (“You Never Cross My Mind”) and at least one pop-leaning gem that could be on country radio right now (“Not Today”).
Musicians tend to think that their most recent album is their best. But Young & Unafraid, the band’s sixth release, certainly feels like a standout.
“I think we’re getting back to our rock roots, where we originally started,” Allen said. “But you get some Southern rock, you get singer-songwriter stuff, you get the ballads that are maybe in that singer-songwriter vein, and you also get jams and indie rock.”
Whatever the case, the muscular, roaring riff rocker “Bet The Farm” and the aforementioned “Till The Hurt Don’t Hurt” have a heavy and menacing swagger. The album in general represents a peak in the longtime collaboration between the band and producer Tom Tapley.
“We’ve been working with Tom for almost 10 years now,” Allen said. “And it just clicked really well. He’s an Alabama boy, just like the four of us. It was an automatic great fit. He understood our sound and what we were going for, so we just keep going back to him because he gets us and he sees our vision.”
That vision has grown increasingly expansive since The Vegabonds released its debut, Dear Revolution independently back in 2010. In fact, it felt fair to ask the band (rounded out by guitarist/pedal steel player Richard Forehand and keyboardist Beau Cooper) if “Southern rock,” the tag the band is hit with the most often as a descriptor, is still accurate, or ever was.
“We were never traditional Southern rock,” Bruens said. “That makes people think more of Lynyrd Skynyrd. We certainly take vibes and influences from that, but we mix in the modern day music world, where all the other genres have moved in.”
In fact, the band has invented its own term for what they play now. Or rather, guitarist Richard Forehand’s father did.
“I think the closest we’ve come to a description is ‘New South Rock,’ ” Harris said. “Richard’s Dad came up with that one.”
IF YOU WANT TO GO: The Vegabonds, Doors open at 6 p.m., June 20 and & 21, The Windjammer, 1008 Ocean Blvd., Isle of Palms. Tickets are $30 to$50: the-windjammer.com.
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