Progressive bluegrass band The HillBenders tackle Who's rock opera 'Tommy' at Nightfall

This Appalachian take on "Tommy" is as awesome as it is audacious, a fully satisfying interpretation that walks a just-right line between homage and reinvention.

The Hillbenders are Nolan Lawrence (mandolin), Gary Rea (bass), Jimmy Rea (guitar), Mark Cassidy (banjo) and Chad Graves (Dobro).

When South By Southwest co-founder and music producer Louis Jay Meyers first approached Missouri progressive bluegrass ensemble The HillBenders in the late summer of 2014 with an idea to translate The Who's seminal rock opera "Tommy" into a bluegrass album, they thought he was having a laugh.

"I said, 'That's interesting. I would never have thought of that. Who do you think is going to do that?'" recalls HillBender mandolinist/co-lead vocalist Nolan Lawrence. "He looked me dead in the eye and said, 'Well, I thought you would.'"

Cue double take.

"Well, I'm definitely not opposed. Let me wrap my head around it,'" Lawrence remembers telling Meyers. "Nobody [in the band] took it very seriously. Then, at some point, we sat down with Louis, and he said, 'I'm very serious. This is something I want to try.'"

Once they began demoing tracks to see if it was even feasible, however, the band suddenly realized that the project stood a chance of not only working but actually being good.

"We sent those first demo tracks off to Louis, and he turned around in a couple of hours and said, 'Oh my God, this is exactly what I was hoping for. I can't wait to flesh this out,'" Lawrence says. "It was meant to be, and we knew it fairly early in the process."

Over the course of four days, and with Meyers producing, The HillBenders recorded 23 tracks on analog tape, a first for the band, landing many of the songs and interludes in one or two takes. When they finished, they'd produced an acoustic adaptation that was an unlikely but faithful homage to its legendary source material.

"We knew we would get pigeonholed into it if we erred on the side of shtick," Lawrence says. "None of us are into that kind of shtick or bluegrass anyway. We just prefer a little more aggressive take on the music.

"For us, it fit right in our wheelhouse; it fit with our style and with our energy. Emulating one of the greatest rock bands of all time was something that we all wanted to do since we were kids. It was a dream come true."

The HillBenders have toured on "Tommy: A Bluegrass Opry" nearly nonstop since its release in June 2015. The novelty of the project and the quality with which it was created have attracted coverage of the band and project by major outlets including Billboard, Rolling Stone and Huffington Post. In the spring of 2015, The HillBenders even had the opportunity to meet The Who's Pete Townshend, who was fascinated by pre-release buzz about the project in the U.K.

On Friday, Aug. 19, The HillBenders will present their acoustic take on "Tommy" at Miller Plaza as this week's Nightfall concert series headliners. And even if some people quirk an eyebrow at a bunch of Show Me State bluegrass players tackling one of the most legendary rock albums of all time, Lawrence says he's confident the band can win them over.

"I think the thing that we've become known for and that we appreciate the most about what we do is connecting with an audience and really sharing the energy of the night and the energy of the show," he says. "We're looking for a crowd that is willing to dive in with us and get into the music as opposed to being just a bystander."

Contact Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6205. Follow him on Twitter at @PhillipsCTFP.