Dave Matthews Band at Kentucky Exposition Center

Dave Matthews Band was formed in Charlottesville, VA in 1991 by South African native singer and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, the late LeRoi Moore, who played a wide variety of instruments from the saxophone to the flute, violin player Boyd Tinsley, drummer Carter Beauford, and keyboardist Peter Griesar (who left the band in 1993), all of whom Dave met in Charlottesville. In 1998, the band played shows with keyboardist Butch Taylor, although he was not officially a member of the band. Taylor played with the band for the stadium runs of the 1999 and 2000 summer tours. From May 18th, 2001 on, Taylor was a permanent fixture on stage, and in 2003 was no longer listed as "special guest". Even though he was never officially part of the lineup, the band recently announced that Butch was leaving the band via their website, and the 2008 summer tour had some of the first shows without Taylor in years. Rashawn Ross has performed at every normal show from 12.13.05 until the present, leading some to believe that he has joined the band, at least semi-permanently. It is also confirmed that Ross was in the studio with the band during the recent sessions. As of early 2009, Ross, long time collaborator Tim Reynolds, and new saxophonist Jeff Coffin are listed as "Touring Members". Early 1990s In the early 1990s, the band established a cult following through relentless touring with weekly stops at Virginia clubs known as Trax and Floodzone, an active taping community, and an independent LP, Remember Two Things. (Keyboardist Griesar left the band in 1993, shortly before the release of "Remember Two Things".) After signing to RCA Records, Dave Matthews Band, under the direction of producer Steve Lillywhite, released Under the Table and Dreaming in 1994, a critical and popular smash that firmly established the band's style of pop-rock with improvisational leanings. Under the Table and Dreaming would be the first of three albums released under Lillywhite's direction. This was followed by Crash (1996). For most of America, Crash was the record that put the Dave Matthews Band on the map. Featuring the hit single "Crash Into Me", as well as fan-favorites such as "Two Step", "Tripping Billies", and the Grammy-winning "So Much to Say", Crash would go on to be the band's best selling album. The Mercy Songfacts reports that Lillywhite lent his skills to their 2012 album Away From The World. Lillywhite hadn't worked with the band since a series of unreleased recordings in 2000, which led to the leaked Lillywhite Sessions. History David John Matthews was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1967. Two years later, his family moved to Westchester County, NY. His father was a physicist and worked for IBM at the time. He has two sisters (Anne and Jane) and a brother (Peter). After living in New York, his family moved to Cambridge, England in the early '70s. The family returned to New York where his father died in 1977. In 1980, the family moved to South Africa where the young Matthews went to several schools and "got more wise about the evils of government, there and in general." He first played at a club in Charlottesville (Miller's) where he worked as a bartender. He admitted to Playboy magazine that he was really never that good at bartending, but loved getting customers...well..."drunk as hell!" He was first discovered in a demo tape that he recorded with a couple of current band members. This all came about when he decided to put together a demo tape and decided that he needed some musical accompaniment; which ended up as the Dave Matthews Band. In 1994, his sister Anne died in a domestic tragedy at her home in South Africa. The Grammy nominated album "Under The Table and Dreaming" is dedicated to her. Community Dave Matthews Band is highly involved in giving a helping hand. In 2003, the Band held a concert entitled, "The Central Park Concert" which was held in New York City's Central Park. The concert helped New York City Public Schools, the band is a big supporter of education. The band also held a concert that helped victims of Katrina. Sadly, Leroi Moore passed away in 2008. After being seriously injured in an ATV accident in Virginia, Moore succumbed to his injuries on August 19, 2008. He was replaced by Jeff Coffin, famous for his work with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. Excerpt taken from Wikipedia.org -- the rest of this article can be found at: Wikipedia Official site: www.dmband.com

Hootie & the Blowfish is an American rock band formed in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1986. The band's lineup for most of its existence has been the quartet of Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, and Jim Sonefeld. The band went on hiatus in 2008 until they announced plans for a full reunion tour in 2019 and released their first new studio album in fourteen years, Imperfect Circle.

Counting Crows is an American rock band from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of rhythm guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, multi-instrumentalist David Immerglück, bassist Millard Powers, and lead guitarist Dan Vickrey. Past members include the drummers Steve Bowman (1991–1994) and Ben Mize (1994–2002), and bassist Matt Malley (1991–2005).

Jesse Allen Breckenridge Wells, known professionally as Jesse Welles, is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He released his debut studio album, Red Trees and White Trashes, in 2018. Welles previously performed under the name Jeh Sea Wells and was also the frontman of the bands Dead Indian, formed in 2012, and Cosmic-American, formed in 2015. He was also the frontman for the band Welles.

Portugal. The Man is an American rock band from Wasilla, Alaska and based in Portland, Oregon. The group currently consists of founding member John Baldwin Gourley, joined by a group of touring musicians for live performances. Gourley and co-founding bassist Zach Carothers met and began playing music together in 2001 at Wasilla High School.

Fitz and the Tantrums is an American soul group from Los Angeles, California. The group was founded in 2008 by Michael Fitzpatrick, who had begun writing soul music for a solo project on an old church organ he had purchased. He added friend James King to the group as an arranger and soon after expanded the band to a seven-piece, including several horns. Fitzpatrick shares the vocal duties with Noelle Scaggs. Other members include Joseph Karnes, Jeremy Ruzumna, and John Wicks. The group's debut EP, Songs for a Breakup, Vol. 1, was released in 2009. Dangerbird Records signed the group in 2010 and issued their first full-length album, Pickin' Up the Pieces, in August of that year. The album reached #15 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. Los Angeles Times music critic Ann Powers wrote, "Fitz & the Tantrums is the kind of band that communicates best in concert, but this album serves as a fine proxy and party-starter." Aly Comingore of the Santa Barbara Independent wrote that the band members craft "soulful, nostalgia pop that's not only infectious, but just fresh enough to make it stand apart from its predecessors." In 2010 the group opened several dates on tour with Maroon 5. On January 12, 2011, Fitz & the Tantrums performed the songs "MoneyGrabber" and "Don't Gotta Work It Out" on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live in Los Angeles. In 2010 the groups music video for the song "MoneyGrabber" was incorporated into the opening scene of a sixth season episode of the CBS crime-drama Criminal Minds entitled "Safe Haven". Fitzpatrick has said that the band's musical style can be fairly described as "soul-influenced indie pop". He noted that while the band is influenced by the classic songs of the Motown and Stax record labels, the band is not trying to create an exact replica of that music. In another interview, Fitzpatrick talked about his decision to not use guitars in the band. "I did want to try and make a big sounding record without guitars," he said. "For me, I just feel like in any music that has a band, the guitar is always there, it's always featured, it's always prevalent. I'm just sick of hearing it." In 2012, the band signed to Elektra Records, and started to record their major-label debut More Than Just A Dream, which will be released on May 7, 2013.

Sons of Legion is a Soul Rock band from Nashville, Tennessee, consisting of members Adam McInnis and Daddy Jack -- two guys from opposite sides of the country that happened to cross paths and chose to walk down the same road. Sons of Legion is a dynamic band blending the raw energy of rock, the soulful depth of blues, and the timeless appeal of soul music. With a style that marries rugged grit with sophisticated class, they channel a vibe reminiscent of the GREATEST bands of the past. Renowned for their powerful performances and compelling lyrics, Sons of Legion have captivated audiences worldwide. Their music, featuring standout tracks like "Brand New Day," "Power," and "Firestarter," has garnered over 11 million streams on Spotify and has been featured on major platforms like ESPN, Dodge Ram commercials, Netflix, and NBC.

Better Than Ezra is an alternative rock trio based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The band was formed in Baton Rouge in 1987 by Kevin Griffin while he and the other original members were attending college at Louisiana State University. By 1988 Better Than Ezra had released a demo cassette tape, Chime Street Studio Demo Tape. In 1989 the band released a cassette-only album, Surprise. They released their first nationally-distributed album Deluxe in 1993 (Swell Records / 1995 Elektra). It was released on 2 different labels, the independent Swell Records first, in 1993, and later national label Elektra Records, in 1995. That same year, "Good" became a major pop hit, reaching the #1 position on the Billboard Modern Rock chart. Subsequent album releases include Friction, Baby (Elektra, 1996), How Does Your Garden Grow? (Elektra, 1998), and Closer, (Beyond Records, 2001). The band also released the B-Sides and rarities collection artifakt on its own "Ezra Dry Goods/Fudge" label in 2000. Late 2004 saw the band simultaneously releasing an official live concert DVD, as well as an official live album, both entitled Live at the House of Blues New Orleans (Sanctuary Records). Recent releases include a Greatest Hits collection (Warner Brothers, March 15, 2005), and a new album entitled Before the Robots (Artemis Records, May 31, 2005.) Like many bands in the then-burgeoning alt-rock movement of the mid-'90s, Better Than Ezra enjoyed their period of greatest chart success immediately following their debut major-label release (Deluxe), which spawned their highest-charting hits. At least commercially (and in terms of mainstream radio play), the band has experienced slightly diminishing returns with each successive release; however, unlike the majority of their contemporaries, Better Than Ezra's extremely loyal fan base has kept the group from dropping off of the musical map. Ezra's followers, who refer to themselves as Ezralites, have never cared whether radio stations play the band or not--in fact, many fans follow the band religiously, attending scores of their performances. It is Ezra's loyal fans and a relentless touring schedule which has allowed them to continue to produce new music, remain extremely viable in the music world, and out-live their projected shelf life. Additionally, Better Than Ezra's independence and survival in a business that has chewed up and spat out many bands who they used to jockey for chart position seems to indicate that the band will be around to satisfy their fans' rapacious appetite for their music for many years to come. In addition to vocalist and guitarist Kevin Griffin from Monroe, Louisiana, the current members of Better Than Ezra are bass guitar player Tom Drummond and drummer Travis McNabb. Original drummer, Cary Bonnecaze, left the band after the release of Deluxe. Original lead guitarist, Joel Rundell, committed suicide in 1990. Multi-Instrumentalist James Arthur Payne also from Monroe, Louisiana tours with the band, fills in vocal, keyboard, guitar, and harmonica parts, and is a fan favorite. Who or what Ezra might be is a mystery that the band members have no interest in clearing up. Drummond once told a reporter that the meaning of the band's name is "so lame you wouldn't even want to print it." However, it has also been said that the name came into being when the then nameless band entered a battle of the bands in competition with a group named Ezra. Needing a name to register they simply said that they were better. In 2005, Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry used the band's song "Juicy" as the background music for the second season of the show's promotional advertisement. The band is slated to headline A Taste of Fort Collins in Fort Collins, Colorado. _____ _____ _____ In 2009 there were line-up changes and a new album released. Drummer Travis McNabb left to tour with the Country music group Sugarland. The split was friendly and McNabb still serves on the Ezra charitable organizations. McNabb was replaced by Michael Jerome as touring and ?future? drummer, with Blair Sinta filling in on parts of the album Paper Empire and 2 dates of the bands summer 2009 concert tour. Travis McNabb played his last show with Ezra on Feb. 15, 2009 in Metairie, Louisiana. Paper Empire was released on May 12, 2009.

Lisa Anne Loeb is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author and actress. She started her career with "Stay " (1994) from the film Reality Bites, the first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 for an artist without a recording contract. She achieved additional top-20 singles with "Do You Sleep?" in 1996 and "I Do" in 1998. Her albums Tails (1995) and Firecracker (1997) were certified gold.

Uncle Lucius is an American Southern rock/jam band based in Austin, TX. Formed in 2005, the group was on hiatus from March 2018 until the band announced a new tour in late 2022. The band features Kevin Galloway on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Hal Vorpahl on bass, Mike Carpenter on lead guitar and vocals, Josh Greco on drums and percussion and Jon Grossman on lead vocals, and keys. The band released "Something They Ain't" in 2006, followed by 2009's “Pick Your Head Up”. The band's third album, “And You Are Me,” was released on 28 August 2012 and was recorded in Austin and Nashville The band released "Like It's The Last One Left" in 2023.

Paula Dorothy Cole is an American singer and songwriter. After gaining attention for her performances as a vocalist on Peter Gabriel's 1993–1994 Secret World Tour, she released her first album, Harbinger, which suffered from a lack of promotion when the label, Imago Records, folded shortly after its release. Her second album, This Fire (1996), brought her worldwide acclaim, peaking at number 20 on the Billboard 200 album chart and producing two hit singles, the triple-Grammy nominated "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?", which reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1997, and "I Don't Want to Wait", which was used as the theme song of the television show Dawson's Creek. Cole was a featured performer in the 1996 prototype mini-tour for Lilith Fair, and also was a headliner for Lilith Fair in 1997 and 1998. She won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1998, and that same year became the first woman to be nominated for "Producer of the Year" without a male collaborator.

Vertical Horizon are an American alternative rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1991. Vocalists and guitarists Matt Scannell and Keith Kane started the band when they were students at Georgetown University, later expanding the duo into a full four-piece band. Since the mid-2000s the group has undergone multiple line-up changes, with Scannell serving as the only constant member throughout. The band has released seven studio albums since 1992 – the most successful of which was their third, Everything You Want, which was certified double Platinum by the RIAA. Its title track is the band's signature song, having reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2000 – the only single of the band's to do so. The album also spawned two further two Hot 100 entries, "You're a God" and "Best I Ever Had ".

Tonic is an American rock band, formed in 1993 by Emerson Hart and Jeff Russo. Later members have included Dan Lavery, Kevin Shepard, Pierce Bowers and Dan Rothchild. The band signed with Polydor Records in 1995, through which they released their debut studio album Lemon Parade (1996). Despite lukewarm critical and commercial response, it spawned the singles "Open Up Your Eyes" and "If You Could Only See" in 1997, which significantly entered several Billboard charts, including Adult Alternative Airplay, Radio Songs, Alternative Airplay and Mainstream Rock. The album received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Joan Elizabeth Osborne is an American singer-songwriter. She has recorded and performed in various musical genres, including rock, pop, soul, R&B, blues, and country. She is best known for her recording of the Eric Bazilian-penned song "One of Us", from her debut album, Relish (1995). Both the single and the album became worldwide hits and garnered a combined seven Grammy Award nominations. Osborne has toured with Motown sidemen the Funk Brothers and was featured in the documentary film about them, Standing in the Shadows of Motown (2002).

The Verve Pipe is an American post-grunge band from East Lansing, Michigan. It was formed in 1991 by Brian Vander Ark, Brad Vander Ark, Donny Brown and Brian Stout, releasing their first album, I've Suffered a Head Injury later that year. They released a second album Pop Smear helping to gain a devoted following in their native state of Michigan, which led to signing with RCA Records in 1995. Despite the similarity in name to the British band The Verve, there is no relation between the two. In 1992, working with producer/engineer Jon Frazer, they released their first album, I've Suffered a Head Injury, which featured an acoustic version of the band's calling-card hit, "The Freshmen." The original 10-song version of the CD is no longer available. A 7-song version, without the original recording of "The Freshmen" and two songs written by Stout, was later released as an EP. The band, known for its energetic live performances, built strong followings during its early years, especially in the college towns of Kalamazoo and East Lansing. In the fall of 1993, the band released a second album, Pop Smear again working with Frazer that helped them gain a devoted following in their native state of Michigan and their eventual signing with RCA Records in 1995. AJ Dunning replaced Stout on guitar for the recording of Pop Smear and remained in the band for their three RCA records. This album featured the popular tracks "Spoonful of Sugar" and "Victoria" among others. While Doug Corolla played on Pop Smear, he was not a full member of the band until 1994. Their first major label release was 1996's Villains, which was a minor hit and launched two respectably-selling singles, first Photograph then the #1 hit The Freshmen. They came back with The Verve Pipe in 1999, with such tracks as "Supergig," "Generations" and "She Has Faces." The album, however, failed to contain the commercial appeal of its predecessor. The band's final release for RCA Records was 2001's Underneath. The song "Colorful," from Underneath, was featured on the soundtrack of Rock Star. Underneath's release unfortunately coincided with the September 11th terroist attacks which contributed to the album's poor sales which led to the band being dropped from RCA. On September 15, 2009, Brian Vander Ark announced on his Web site that the band would be releasing a new album called A Family Album in October, 2009. The band had been approached to contribute a song for an album called "Calling All Kids" which led to them creating an entire album of family friendly songs. Lead singer Brian Vander Ark has also released four solo albums: 2003's Resurrection, 2006's Angel, Put Your Face On, 2008's self-titled release Brian Vander Ark and 2011's Magazine. Since the release of Underneath, the band's line up has changed frequently with former members including Joel Ferguson, Dan Matheny and John Conners. The current line up is as follows: * Brian Vander Ark – lead vocals, guitars * Donny Brown – drums, background vocals * Andy Reed – bass, background vocals * Randy Sly – keyboards, background vocals * Lou Musa - guitars, background vocals * Craig Griffith - harmonica, background vocals

Our Lady Peace is a Canadian alternative rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1992. Led by lead vocalist Raine Maida since its formation, the band currently also features Duncan Coutts on bass, Steve Mazur on guitars, and Jason Pierce on drums. The band has sold several million albums worldwide, won four Juno Awards, and won ten MuchMusic Video Awards. The most MMVAs ever awarded to a band. Nineteen of their singles have reached the Top Ten on one of Canada's singles charts. Between 1996 and 2016, Our Lady Peace was the third best-selling Canadian band and the ninth best-selling Canadian artist overall in Canada.

Ryman Auditorium is a historic 2,362-seat live-performance venue and museum located at 116 Rep. John Lewis Way North, in the downtown core of Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It is best known as the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. It is owned and operated by Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. Ryman Auditorium was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and was later designated as a National Historic Landmark on June 25, 2001, for its pivotal role in the popularization of country music. A storied stage for Rock & Roll artists for decades, the Ryman was named a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Landmark in 2022.