The suitcase kicking, fiddle playing, banjo slinging, slide guitar Americana band

​

Ten years of being “on the cusp” and “the band you should have seen” can wear a band down. Having played over 800 shows from Boston to Austin to Cheltenham, England, Big Kettle Drum (BKD) founding members Brant Christopher Menswar and JT Keel certainly have earned the right to kick off their boots and call it a night. But instead they added multi-instrumentalists Rick Huffman on bass and Natalie Hoang on violin to take their swampy Florida backwoods style off the side-stage porch and into living rooms, clubs and music halls across the country. With the band now finalized and the music pushing the boundaries of Americana Folk, the days of being “the band you should have seen” won’t last much longer. Their music will be heard on well over a dozen television shows this fall as people are finally hearing what a decade of blue collar, morale crushing, playing to an empty room, life in a Kia Soul pulling a home-made trailer has earned them. Respect.

 

That respect has been given by the likes of Brandi Carlile, Switchfoot, Tonic, Michael Tolcher, Will Hoge and others they have shared the stage with. It’s been given by Nashville songwriting machine, Marty Dodson (Six #1 singles with 20 million albums sold) who co-wrote six of the songs on their last two EP’s. Most importantly, it’s been given by their incredibly loyal fan base the band lovingly calls “Kettleheads”. 

 

With the release of their third record, Lock and Key, BKD has finally hit their genre-busting stride and are slowly earning the respect of new fans and critics alike…just the way they are used to. Grinding it out til the banjo is out of tune, the guitar strings break and the suitcase kick drum needs more duct tape.