If You Go* What: Nightfall Concert Series featuring The Farewell Drifters* When: 8 tonight; Barefoot Nellie opens at 7 p.m.* Where: Miller Plaza, corner M.L. King Boulevard, Market and Cherry streets.* Admission: Free* Phone: 267-0771.* Venue website: www.nightfallchattanooga.com.* Related links: www.thefarewelldrifters.comOpening ActBarefoot Nellie has been playing bluegrass music in the Chattanooga and Cleveland, Tenn., area for a while now. Their sound is traditional, but they are not opposed to mixing in an acoustic or folk number or two. Members are Eric Bruce (bass), Dewayne Smith (banjo), Josh Hixson (guitar), August Bruce (fiddle) and Larry Rapier (mandolin).
The Farewell Drifters made their national CD debut June 8 with the release of “Yellow Tag Mondays,” a collection of acoustic-driven songs that showcase the group’s harmonies.
You can hear the band live tonight at Miller Plaza as part of the Nightfall Concert Series.
The band’s music combines traditional bluegrass or America instrumentation with a modern sensibility.
The 4-year-old quintet feature two acoustic guitars, mandolin, fiddle and an upright bass.
“This music reaches the traditional fans,” said co-founding lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Zach Bevill on the group’s website, “but it also reaches the folk and singer/songwriter fans. We’ll even play at rock clubs, and people go nuts over the energy that is coming off the stage with the acoustic instruments.”
Recorded over two years, “Yellow Tag Mondays” was influenced by such diverse artists as Brian Wilson, The Beatles, John Hartford, Gram Parsons and The Byrds, according to the band’s bio.
The band features Bevill, mandolinist Joshua Britt, lead guitarist Clayton Britt (Joshua’s younger brother), bassist Dean Marold and fiddler Christian Sedelmyer. All sing.
“Rather than model our vocals on existing sources,” Bevill said in the online bio, “we sing harmony how we feel it and how we hear it.”