News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Live music has returned to the Upper Cumberland and local musicians are glad.
Homecooked Meal and Faraway Dogs lead singer and guitarist David Preston said business was picking up before the pandemic started.
“We were playing out four or five nights a week usually, and [the pandemic] just put a screeching halt to it,” Preston said. “It definitely took it’s toll. We were feeling it there for a while. Of course we’re getting to come back to it and play a little more now so it’s picking back up.”
Preston said while business is getting better, it’s still not back to normal. Both bands were booked months in advance at different venues, but both have lost a number of gigs. He said they’re now playing at least twice a week.
“I kinda feel like it could go the other way at any time, so we’re all trying to be really careful,” Preston said. “It is nice to get back out, I think people were really missing that.”
Faraway Dogs and Homecooked Meal have played at Cookeville’s Hix Farm Brewery and Bar on the Green, Jamestown’s Sawbriar Brewery, Sparta’s Happy Trails Brewery, and Gainesboro’s Bull and Thistle.
Smokey Nights lead singer and guitarist Anthony Nguyen said the band suffered a huge financial loss after no live shows for two months. But Nguyen said they found a virtual way to keep playing music.
“What we did was focus a lot of our attention on streaming platforms and live streams through Facebook and Youtube,” Nguyen said. “We even attended a festival that that was broadcast over Youtube, and that was down in Chattanooga. But you know live shows were out of the question so we just did a lot of live streams and hope that family, friends, and fans tuned in.”
Nguyen said before the pandemic the band played six times a week across the Upper Cumberland, but that number has been cut in half. He said they are preforming less than ever before.
“Musicians are really sticking together during these hard times so we’re definitely looking forward to collaborating with other bands and artists across Tennessee and across the U.S. in the future,” Nguyen said.
