Rising country music stars from the group Due West will be doing a free show at the Springville Art City Days festival on Saturday.
The band is returning to Springville despite being rained out last year at the same event.
"Due West was really, really gracious last year and did a little acoustical show along the sides of the venue so at least the hardcore fans got something out of that," said Charles Keeler, a representative from the Springville Museum of Art. "We're really fortunate that we were able to book them early because not more than a week or two after I booked them, their songs started showing up on the Top 40.
"In 2009, Due West's lead single "I Get That All the Time" reached No. 17 on the Music Row chart, the highest-charting independent single of the year.
That same song's video reached No. 3 on the Great American Country Top 20 Countdown and features the band members' families.
But the band's magic that propelled it into the music world's spotlight began long before its songs started hitting the charts.
The members of Due West-- Brad Hull, Matt Lopez and Tim Gates -- met at a house party one night, an experience they now have come to call a chance encounter that changed their lives.
"Our lead singer, Tim Gates at the time he was just some guy was playing some old tunes and Matt and I jumped in on the harmonies and kind of started singing along," said Hull, who plays acoustic and electric guitar, as well as sings high harmony for the group. "By the end of the night people that showed up late said, 'Oh, cool, you guys are great, what's the name of your band?' " Course, we'd just met each other and didn't have a name of the band, we didn't even know each others' names.
"Shortly after that, the trio started playing local gigs, many at a restaurant Gates was managing in Nashville. Hull said the group mainly played for fun and to make a little extra money on the side, but a few years later they decided to get more serious.
Early on in Due West's career the group signed with RCA, but soon after the label merged with Sony, the band found itself managing its music on its own.
Almost a year ago, Due West signed with Black River Entertainment, and in February released its newest album, Forget the Miles.
Due West's new single and video, "When the Smoke Clears," is currently No. 18 on the GAC Top 20 Countdown.
All three members of Due West are full-time songwriters for a publishing company in Nashville, Hull said, and the experience of writing a song and seeing it progress whether it is sung by Due West or not is amazing.
Lopez, who plays acoustic guitar and sings low harmony in the group, helped pen "Love's Lookin' Good on You," a song that was turned down by Reba McEntire but found a home on the debut album of Lady Antebellum.
"It's really cool," Hull said. "It's fun to be there through the whole process of a song, to see it come from an idea on a page to be on a sold-out stage, to be recorded in a studio, it's like when you perform that's really when the song starts to come alive," Hull said.
The band's sound is made up of a mixture of twang, influenced by pop and rock, all imbedded in the roots of country, making each song original and crisp.
"We sort of have a sound that's inherent to us that we can make any song sound like a Due West song," Hull said. "I think all of us really had the music in our blood since we were just little. We've all had the bug, so to speak."
Hull said the band is excited to come back to Springville and put on the show it was supposed to last year, giving everyone in the audience a good time.
"We just love to make sure that every single person in the audience is having a great time, they're moving to the beat and have a smile on their face," he said.
The musical group Mr. Pickens will open for Due West at 7 p.m., but Keeler suggested patrons arrive earlier than that to enjoy a carnival, a variety of food and other activities going on all day. Due West will play up until the firework show, which begins at 10 p.m.
Read the full article here.
The band is returning to Springville despite being rained out last year at the same event.
"Due West was really, really gracious last year and did a little acoustical show along the sides of the venue so at least the hardcore fans got something out of that," said Charles Keeler, a representative from the Springville Museum of Art. "We're really fortunate that we were able to book them early because not more than a week or two after I booked them, their songs started showing up on the Top 40.
"In 2009, Due West's lead single "I Get That All the Time" reached No. 17 on the Music Row chart, the highest-charting independent single of the year.
That same song's video reached No. 3 on the Great American Country Top 20 Countdown and features the band members' families.
But the band's magic that propelled it into the music world's spotlight began long before its songs started hitting the charts.
The members of Due West-- Brad Hull, Matt Lopez and Tim Gates -- met at a house party one night, an experience they now have come to call a chance encounter that changed their lives.
"Our lead singer, Tim Gates at the time he was just some guy was playing some old tunes and Matt and I jumped in on the harmonies and kind of started singing along," said Hull, who plays acoustic and electric guitar, as well as sings high harmony for the group. "By the end of the night people that showed up late said, 'Oh, cool, you guys are great, what's the name of your band?' " Course, we'd just met each other and didn't have a name of the band, we didn't even know each others' names.
"Shortly after that, the trio started playing local gigs, many at a restaurant Gates was managing in Nashville. Hull said the group mainly played for fun and to make a little extra money on the side, but a few years later they decided to get more serious.
Early on in Due West's career the group signed with RCA, but soon after the label merged with Sony, the band found itself managing its music on its own.
Almost a year ago, Due West signed with Black River Entertainment, and in February released its newest album, Forget the Miles.
Due West's new single and video, "When the Smoke Clears," is currently No. 18 on the GAC Top 20 Countdown.
All three members of Due West are full-time songwriters for a publishing company in Nashville, Hull said, and the experience of writing a song and seeing it progress whether it is sung by Due West or not is amazing.
Lopez, who plays acoustic guitar and sings low harmony in the group, helped pen "Love's Lookin' Good on You," a song that was turned down by Reba McEntire but found a home on the debut album of Lady Antebellum.
"It's really cool," Hull said. "It's fun to be there through the whole process of a song, to see it come from an idea on a page to be on a sold-out stage, to be recorded in a studio, it's like when you perform that's really when the song starts to come alive," Hull said.
The band's sound is made up of a mixture of twang, influenced by pop and rock, all imbedded in the roots of country, making each song original and crisp.
"We sort of have a sound that's inherent to us that we can make any song sound like a Due West song," Hull said. "I think all of us really had the music in our blood since we were just little. We've all had the bug, so to speak."
Hull said the band is excited to come back to Springville and put on the show it was supposed to last year, giving everyone in the audience a good time.
"We just love to make sure that every single person in the audience is having a great time, they're moving to the beat and have a smile on their face," he said.
The musical group Mr. Pickens will open for Due West at 7 p.m., but Keeler suggested patrons arrive earlier than that to enjoy a carnival, a variety of food and other activities going on all day. Due West will play up until the firework show, which begins at 10 p.m.
Read the full article here.
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