Three More Brown County Shows
The new Brown County Music Center located in Nashville, Ind. has announced three more upcoming shows as part of its inaugural lineup this fall including GRAMMY Award-winning country music legend Ronnie Milsap (Friday, November 8), rock band The Why Store (Saturday, November 16) which originated in Muncie, Ind., and funk band favorites Here Come The Mummies (Saturday, October 26).
About Here Come the Mummies
Cursed after deflowering a great Pharaoh’s daughter (or daughters), Here Come The Mummies [HCTM] have been delivering their brand of “Terrifying Funk from Beyond the Grave” since the year 2000 AD. While HCTM‘s lyrics leave little to the imagination, their wraps have been the topic of much speculation. Some say they are reincarnated Grammy winning studio musicians, wrapping themselves to escape record contracts. Others claim the band is the brainchild of sexy-man Scott Baio. Regardless, HCTM’s mysterious personas, cunning song-craft, and unrelenting live show will bend your brain, and melt your face. Maybe that’s why the ladies (and some dudes) can’t stop losing their minds and soaking their shorts over these mayhem-inducing mavens of mirth.
About Ronnie Milsap
Born blind (his family thought it was retribution for sin), Ronnie Milsap’s grandparents gave the boy over to the North Carolina State School for the Blind hoping for a better chance. There, Milsap discovered music – deviating from the school’s classical curriculum to explore the nascent realms of race music, rock & roll, and jazz. Being the brilliant kid he was, it wasn’t long until he’d found his way into the local clubs and the tiny indie labels. Suddenly, he was sharing bills with Ray Charles and James Brown on a circuit that included the Howard Theater, the Royal Peacock, and more. It was Ray Charles who told the young pianist when he was offered a scholarship to Young Harris College’s law program, “Son, I can hear the music inside you…” It settled Milsap’s fate. Five decades of charted singles and 40 No. 1’s. Creating a new way of recording (being blind his hyper-attuned hearing led him to create/build what is now known as Ronnie’s Place, where the new album, The Duets, was captured), he broke genre rules and became one of the biggest pop/AC and even R&B artists of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Six Grammys, CMA Entertainer of the Year, and four Album of the Year Awards. The first country video played on MTV (the ironic “She Loves My Car”). Always chasing the music, always hungry for the songs, he is now an inspiration for a new generation of country stars from critical standard setters Kacey Musgraves and Little Big Town to CMA/ACM Entertainers of the Year Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean, as well as a standard-setter for friends like Dolly Parton, George Strait, Willie Nelson, and even groundbreakers Leon Russell and Billy Gibbons. In a world of marketing match-ups, The Duets is an homage to blurring lines, great songwriting, and vocals that celebrate soul over product – something rare in today’s flashcard jingle country. But just as importantly, Ronnie Milsap is a testament to going where you don’t belong with an open heart and a true sense of music as compass. He’s the same guy today, but all these years later, he’s still a man who lives to play. And man, can he tell a story.
About the Why Store
The Why Store was formed in the late 1980s in Muncie, Indiana. In 1993, the band independently recorded Welcome to the Why Store. One year later the band recorded Inside the Why Store. Both albums were locally successful, and The Why Store began getting attention from record labels. In 1995, The Why Store signed to MCA’s subsidiary Way Cool Music for their first major-label effort, a self-titled LP, which was released in 1996. Their major label debut on MCA Records spawned several hits. The first single, “Lack Of Water”, was a No. 1 hit on Triple-A Radio; the band performed “Surround Me” on Late Night with Conan O’ Brien and saw their video for “Father” receive rotation on MTV2 and VH1. The Why Store was a Top 20 album for 1996 and went on to sell 200,000 copies. The Why Store split up in 2000 citing creative differences, though each member has continued onto different projects, most notably Shaffer who has recorded several solo disks as well as recording with his first post-Why Store band, Shaffer Street. In 2007, Shaffer reincarnated The Why Store with an exciting new album called VIM. Produced by Rusty Anderson, Paul McCartney’s long time guitarist, VIM showcases Chris’s passionate songwriting and refreshingly edgy vocal ability. In 2016, The Why Store released Live at the Slippery Noodle featuring “Everybody” and six previously unreleased tracks available at shows, their website, CD Baby, or iTunes. Once again, The Why Store is officially open for business.
Tickets and information
Tickets are available at www.browncountymusiccenter.com and at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets will also be available for purchase in person at the Brown County Convention and Visitors Bureau Visitor’s Center (located at 211 S. Van Buren Street in downtown Nashville) and also, eventually, at the venue box office.