Christmas Jam • Dec. 26, 2014
feat. Rollin’ In the Hay & Federal Expression
We are pleased to announce that LiveMusicDaily will once again team up with our friends over at Live & Listen for the first Annual Christmas Jam featuring Rollin’ in the Hay, Federal Expression, and DJ Jeffery James.
DJ Jeffrey James will kick off the night spinning and scratching the turn tables at 7:30pm. Shortly thereafter, jam-grass veterans, Rollin’ in the Hay will take the stage. They’ve performed on the bill with some of the biggest names in music; Greg Allman, Moe, Charlie Daniels, The Doobie Brothers, Jerry Douglas, Alabama, to Widespread Panic. To close out the night Federal Expression will hit the stage for a 2 hour set from 10:00pm-12:00am.
A percentage of all ticket and merchandise sales will be donated to Run Bell Run, a campaign aimed at raising awareness and funds for Cystic Fibrosis. Check out Run Bell Run for more information on this great cause !
Live & Listen hosted their first ever Funksgiving concert featuring Earphunk and the McLovins, which also marked the grand opening of The Warehouse (at Alley Station) in downtown Montgomery, AL. With over 300 in attendance the event was wildy successful, check out our full review & photos here.
Stay tuned for a special treat heading to the site soon from DJ Jeffrey James.
Set times
DJ Jeffrey James 7:30-8PM CST
Rollin’ In The Hay: 8PM – 9:30PM CST
DJ Jeffrey James: 9:30PM – 10PM CST
Federal Expression: 10PM – 12AM CST
Rollin’ In the Hay
About: If you want to get an understanding of Rollin’ in the Hay just think high-octane groove grass with a touch of down home foot stompin’ or just simply –Renegade Bluegrass. Long considered to be one of the forerunners of the “Newgrass” revolution in America, these savvy veterans have been thrilling fans coast to coast for years!
Opening for everyone from Greg Allman, Moe, Charlie Daniels, The Doobie Brothers, Jerry Douglas, Alabama,(this list could get LONG) to Widespread Panic,the unique sound of the Hay keeps fans coming back for more. Rollin’ in the Hay has six self-released Cds but also has done 15 nationally released instrumental tributes called the”Pickin’ On” series.
Federal Expression
About Federal Expression:
Federal Expression was born in Bernie’s (now infamous) Laboratory way back when in the summer/fall of 2012. The whole thing came together by chance.. call it fate, coincidence, or some sort of sick cosmic accident.
Brandon Miller (guitar/vocals), Patrick Skelton (acoustic guitar/vocals) and Will Gordon (harmonica/percussion/vocals) were jamming on some tunes one night and it sounded pretty darn good. They decided to get together again few weeks later and asked Buddy Barnes (guitar/vocals) to join in.this group became the original Federal Four.
When the fellas played that first time it felt good and sounded better. The chemistry was just right for further exploration so they set out to forge their identity and find a rhythm section.
Those first couple jam sessions revealed that each of the Federal Four had unique original contributions to make. From the start the band wanted to play original music and they also knew that opening doors would start with learning cover tunes. So the fellas set out to do both… but now it was time to fill out the band.. you know bass, drums, and piano/organs!
The guys decided to go way out of their league and asked some of the best musicians around to come over and ‘jam’ one night… just for fun-sies… you know.. good times, babes, and brews. This was all under the pretense of getting these guys to recommend other, less experienced players who could join the band in the future.
What these unsuspecting professionals didn’t know was that it was a carefully laid trap to snare them into joining the band. And thankfully, the plan worked!
Next thing you know, Freddie Smith (bass), Martin Barnes (piano/organs), and Will Hudson (drums) were on board and now folks, there was a band!
From there it was simple. Learn enough material to gig, get gigs, get more gigs, and name the band!
So every band needs a name, and Federal Expression came about when Buddy was late dropping off a package at a local…ahem..overnight shipping location type place. The lady behind the counter was not too happy with the fact that he was cutting it so close. She gave him an extremely sassy look, shook her head and shoulders, then wagged her finger and “I see you’re Right on Time!”
Later that night, the fellas were jamming at the basement when Buddy attempted to explain the look this woman gave him. All he could say to describe it was that she was giving him some sort of Federal Expression. The guys immediately lovedthe name decided to run with it.
Federal Expression was deemed the un-officially official band name.
In the next few months the band got ready for its first gigs and when it came time to play, everyone had a blast… the band and the audience loved it. That’s not to say there weren’t some hiccups and slight imperfections, but overall Federal Expression got off on the good foot ($1 to James Brown).
2013 proved to be a year of learning to play live and really exploring the face melting space primarily with Patrick’s Theramin and Jews Harp and Will Gordons Vibra-slap.
Federal Expression played some great venues in 2013 ranging from 1048, to the Alley Bar, to the Montgomery Ampitheatre, to the FloraBama for several highly energetic, fun shows.