JBM Promotions & tSGHR present
Bill & the Belles
Fri
Apr, 15
@ 8:00 PM
(Doors: 7:30 pm )
The Southgate House Revival - Revival Room
,
111 E Sixth Street , Newport, KY
All Ages
$15
BILL AND THE BELLES
Happy Again isn’t exactly happy. But the delightfully deadpan new album from roots mainstays Bill and the Belles is full of life, humor, and tongue-in-cheek explorations of love and loss.
Happy Again marks a new chapter for the group by featuring all original music penned by founding member Kris Truelsen. Over eleven tracks the group shows their knack for saying sad things with a bit of a smirk, and tucked amongst the grief and jubilation are some jingle-worthy oddballs for which the band is well known. The raw songcraft along with the deft production touch of Teddy Thompson gives Happy Again an emotional punch that deepens with each listen.
Bill and the Belles is Truelsen on guitar, fiddler Kalia Yeagle, bassist Andrew Small, and banjo/banjo-uke player Aidan VanSuetendael. They revel in the in-between: deeply engaged with the stringband tradition and eager to stretch those influences to contemporary settings. Happy Again is the latest chapter of that ongoing story: what happens when a stringband from East Tennessee lays down a session at Motown. It’s a welcome evolution that feels familiar and timeles
Happy Again isn’t exactly happy. But the delightfully deadpan new album from roots mainstays Bill and the Belles is full of life, humor, and tongue-in-cheek explorations of love and loss.
Happy Again marks a new chapter for the group by featuring all original music penned by founding member Kris Truelsen. Over eleven tracks the group shows their knack for saying sad things with a bit of a smirk, and tucked amongst the grief and jubilation are some jingle-worthy oddballs for which the band is well known. The raw songcraft along with the deft production touch of Teddy Thompson gives Happy Again an emotional punch that deepens with each listen.
Bill and the Belles is Truelsen on guitar, fiddler Kalia Yeagle, bassist Andrew Small, and banjo/banjo-uke player Aidan VanSuetendael. They revel in the in-between: deeply engaged with the stringband tradition and eager to stretch those influences to contemporary settings. Happy Again is the latest chapter of that ongoing story: what happens when a stringband from East Tennessee lays down a session at Motown. It’s a welcome evolution that feels familiar and timeles
Bill & the Belles
BILL AND THE BELLES
“What may be the most innovative modern interpretation of vintage roots
music.” –No Depression
"Bill and the Belles is committed to helping early country music remain
appreciated – not just replicated." –Rolling Stone
Happy Again isn’t exactly happy. But the delightfully deadpan new album from roots mainstays
Bill and the Belles is full of life, humor, and tongue-in-cheek explorations of love and loss. Out
May 21, 2021 on Ditty Boom Records (distribution and promotion by Free Dirt Service Co.),
Happy Again marks a new chapter for the group by featuring eleven all-original songs penned
by founding member Kris Truelsen. There’s no dancing around it: this album is about his
divorce. But the group has a knack for saying sad things with a bit of an ironic smirk, pairing
painful topics with a sense of release and relief. Anyone who’s been to one of their shows can
attest that you leave feeling lighter and refreshed. The band often jokes that their setlists appear
mournful and angry, but if you don’t listen to the words, you wouldn’t know it. “One of the darkest
times of my life turned out to be one of the most creative,” says Truelsen. “I realized, ‘My life is
chaos. I need to write about this shit.’” This personal loss turned out to be a creative boon for
the band. Many of the songs were cranked out in just a few months, two were even written the
night before they were recorded. This raw songcraft, along with the deft production touch of
Teddy Thompson, son of Linda and Richard Thompson, who encouraged using only first or
second takes, gives Happy Again an emotional punch that deepens with each listen.
“They’re a joy to watch live, and we bet you can’t make it through their
set without smiling.” –The Bluegrass Situation
"Bill and the Belles' brand of Americana oftentimes feels like it's turning
back the hands of time with their charming vintage sound." –Pop Matters
The core of Happy Again is the foundational Bill and the Belles quartet sound featuring
Truelsen on guitar, fiddler Kalia Yeagle, bassist Andrew Small, and banjo/banjo-uke player
Helena Hunt, recently replaced by Aidan VanSuetendael. The album is also gently supported
by Nick Falk on electric guitar and percussion and Don Eanes on piano and B3 Hammond.
Early fans of the band were hooked by their singing, and Happy Again continues to deliver“What may be the most innovative modern interpretation of vintage roots
music.” –No Depression
"Bill and the Belles is committed to helping early country music remain
appreciated – not just replicated." –Rolling Stone
Happy Again isn’t exactly happy. But the delightfully deadpan new album from roots mainstays
Bill and the Belles is full of life, humor, and tongue-in-cheek explorations of love and loss. Out
May 21, 2021 on Ditty Boom Records (distribution and promotion by Free Dirt Service Co.),
Happy Again marks a new chapter for the group by featuring eleven all-original songs penned
by founding member Kris Truelsen. There’s no dancing around it: this album is about his
divorce. But the group has a knack for saying sad things with a bit of an ironic smirk, pairing
painful topics with a sense of release and relief. Anyone who’s been to one of their shows can
attest that you leave feeling lighter and refreshed. The band often jokes that their setlists appear
mournful and angry, but if you don’t listen to the words, you wouldn’t know it. “One of the darkest
times of my life turned out to be one of the most creative,” says Truelsen. “I realized, ‘My life is
chaos. I need to write about this shit.’” This personal loss turned out to be a creative boon for
the band. Many of the songs were cranked out in just a few months, two were even written the
night before they were recorded. This raw songcraft, along with the deft production touch of
Teddy Thompson, son of Linda and Richard Thompson, who encouraged using only first or
second takes, gives Happy Again an emotional punch that deepens with each listen.
“They’re a joy to watch live, and we bet you can’t make it through their
set without smiling.” –The Bluegrass Situation
"Bill and the Belles' brand of Americana oftentimes feels like it's turning
back the hands of time with their charming vintage sound." –Pop Matters
The core of Happy Again is the foundational Bill and the Belles quartet sound featuring
Truelsen on guitar, fiddler Kalia Yeagle, bassist Andrew Small, and banjo/banjo-uke player
Helena Hunt, recently replaced by Aidan VanSuetendael. The album is also gently supported
by Nick Falk on electric guitar and percussion and Don Eanes on piano and B3 Hammond.
stellar vocal trio arrangements, honed by Yeagle, that nod toward groups like the Ronettes and
The Shangri-Las. The band began as a project to explore the sounds between rural and urban
music, between vaudeville and down home roots, but they’ve arrived somewhere wholly their
own. They revel in the in-between: deeply engaged with the stringband tradition and eager to
stretch those influences to contemporary settings. Happy Again is the latest chapter of that
ongoing story: what happens when a stringband from East Tennessee lays down a session at
Motown. It’s a welcome evolution that feels familiar and timeless.
With all their tongue-in-cheek quips, you’d think Bill and the Belles avoids the tough stuff,
however, that’s far from the truth. “Never Be Happy Again” is a laundry list of existential woes,
and “People Gonna Talk'' profiles some of the frustrations of small-town living. “Make It Look
Easy” is both an anthem for apathy and a proper “buzz off” to those who’ve got something to
say about your life choices. And of course there’s “Sobbin’ the Blues,” Truelsen’s homage to the
‘talking blues’ numbers of the past, neatly tied up with a moral-of-the-story twist. Tucked in
amongst the grief and jubilation of Happy Again are some noteworthy oddballs, including two
songs that began their lives as jingles on Farm and Fun Time (the band’s live variety radio show
now syndicated on PBS, reaching over 20 million homes): “Bye Bye Bill” (a tale about a pale ale
drinking whale) and the “The Corn Shuckin’ Song” (make of it what you will). The band presents
these themes simply and playfully, inviting listeners to reframe their own burdens and look to the
future. “This was one of the first times I felt like I was writing country songs like my heros that
were actually from my own perspective,” says Truelsen. “I quickly realized it made sense for us
to break the rules.” The group subverts expectations for a stringband, taking a page from some
of the finest early country and rock songwriters that drifted happily between genres. Truelsen
describes the band’s mission: “One of my ultimate goals is to write songs that are hard to
classify in a certain time period. To transcend the now.”
“Bill and the Belles blend a traditional stringband sound with '60 pop“
– Wide Open Country
“It’s Americana as dark comedy.” – Tinnitis