BAND SPOTLIGHT | Legendary Shack Shakers

Celebrating 20 years as an entity on the scene, head Shack Shaker J.D. Wilkes (now an official Kentucky colonel as bestowed by the state’s governor) brings his fellow bandmates bassist Mark Robertson, guitarist Rod Hamdallah and drummer Brett Whitacre on a Midwest tour in May. The LSS released The Southern Surreal, their sixth studio album and the first in five years, on Sept. 11, 2015, on the renowned Alternative Tentacles record label headed by Jello Biafra. Recorded in the famed Woodland Studios in Nashville and featuring guest appearances by longtime Shaker fan Billy Bob Thornton and Jesus Lizard guitarist Duane Denison, the record claims “to explode the ‘Southern Gothic’ concept, reaching so deep into the forbidden roots of Southern culture that the rich mud they bring forth is almost unrecognizable,” and it very likely lives up to that hype. With raucous live shows earning the band the “Legendary” part of their moniker combined with intense, yet revealing songs of thoughtful ill-repute, the Wilkes-led troupe is a true Americana icon.