Dread Clampitt
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Dread Clampitt

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Band Americana Acoustic

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Music

Press


"Defying Definition"

"The band's fan base grew rapidly as they picked their way through nightclubs, restaurants and bars in the Panhandle and in festivals across Georgia and Florida.
The group was having a ball, but everywhere they went, the same question dogged them. 'What do you call your music?'"

"Inside the small club, people are packed elbow-to-elbow, feet slapping and heads bobbing to a sound that blends a hint of early-Dylan folksiness with a pinch of Caribbean spice, a dollop of serious Southern rock and a heaping helping of bluegrass twang.

The sound is impossible to pigeonhole, but is no more eclectic than the players."

- South Walton Life


"Dread Clampitt"

"The music, dubbed "hipbilly" by Balder Saunders, combines Bluegrass, Blues, Rock & Roll, Louisiana Bayou Funk & Swamp music with a heavy reliance on Jazz rhythms. It’s a difficult sound to describe, so we suggest taking a minute to listen to what they have to offer. The lyrics are clever and often heartfelt. They combine a mixture of humor with a real outlook at the world and the people and places around them." - Homegrown Music Network


"Finding Community Among Tourists"

"The crowd, most of whom knew the lyrics to every one of Dread's mostly self-penned songs, was a strange mixture of pretty young girls dancing barefoot in front of the band and a motley assortment of old hippies and boat hands, punkish-looking skateboard types, and off duty service industry workers, some of them still wearing their white chef's shirts. But everyone seemed to know everyone else" - Tuscaloosa News


Discography

LEARNIN' TO LIVE
CD (2011)
GEAUX JUICE
CD (2006)
WRACK & RUIN
CD (2004)
DREAD CLAMPITT
CD (2003)

BAYOU COUNTRY
2005 Documentary Film
featuring Dread Clampitt

BACK FROM THE DREAD
2010 Documentary
about the evolution of Dread Clampitt

MUSICAL COLLABORATIONS:
Sam Bush
Cheryl Crow @ The Red Bar
Chuck Garvey - moe
John Herman - Widespread Panic
Junior Marvin - of The Original Wailers
Johnny Hickman-Cracker
Sara Evans
Peter Rowan
The Reverend Jeff Mosier
Jim Lauderdale
Suzy Ragsdale
Xavier Rudd
Guthrie Trapp

FESTIVALS TO DATE:
Magnolia Fest, Live Oak, FL
Snow Down - Lake Placid, NY
Moe Down, NY
Suwannee Festival, Live Oak FL
The Acoustic Cafe, Hayden, AL
NewGrass Festival, Bowling Green, KY
Americana Music Awards, Nashville, TN
Music City Roots - TN
Earth Day Festival - Baton Rouge, LA
Radio Live Show - WUWF Public Radio

Photos

Bio

“What does the name name Dread Clampitt mean?” This question has been asked quite often of the band over the past few years. . . and the answer is simply, “It doesn’t really mean anything.” Well, that's only part truth !

Funky Bluegrass fusion. Hipbilly. Blue-eyed "soulgrass" - all can describe Dread Clampitt. With cleverly crafted lyrics & blended three part harmonies, Dread mixes organic humor and true grit livin' with the sounds of bluegrass, rock-n-roll and some Louisiana Bayou funk thrown in for good measure.

"We've played together nine years so by now the right hand usually knows what the left one is going to do most of the time", says Balder Saunders - co-founder and band leader. " You never know though what surprise might be just around the corner."
We started making music in a trailer in Grayton Beach. Our mentor & original founder of the band - Duke Bardwell - hooked Kyle and me up as roommates and Kenny was living and playing music in the area, as well. John came along a few years later.

All of our musical roots run deep. Kenny's mother was a classically trained musician, Kyle's Godfather, Duke Bardwell, played bass with Elvis & many others back in the day. He's a killer songwriter, too. Balder's Uncle Potter was a great picker and songwriter and inspiration to us all.

Dread has made four records and two documentary films in nine years. Our latest release in 2011 is called Learnin' to Live. It was cut in Neptone Recording Studio in Destin. We've been fortunate to play with some of the finest musicians and artists all across this great country of ours. We plan to keep on truckin' and sharing our music with you all. We live to play music - it's who we are. Many of our loyal Dread fans have been with us since the beginning. Just ask them how many Dread shows they've seen!