Hwy54
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
Music
Press
THE HWY54 BAND
From: Chapel Hill
Since: 2006
Claim to fame: Named after road connecting Raleigh to Burlington
Starting off as a blues band, HWY54 hasn't left its roots far behind. Vocals slide up and down a traditional blues structure with a rock feel. Guitar, bass and drums balance out, creating a groove before one breaks away. Even with the occasional laid-back funky swing, the most interesting thing about HWY54 is its lyrics. While not sounding like traditional folk, the songs recall a Civil Rights Movement protest-song aesthetic—less personal, more societal. Topics of reflection include the issues facing a wife whose husband is off to war and a defense of migrant workers.
- The Independent, Durham, NC
Discography
Hwy54 -- Self Titled
Tracks have been used on streaming blues stations in the U.S and Europe.
Photos
Bio
Hwy54 was born as Amber Alley in Chapel Hill/Carrboro, North Carolina in 2005.
Originally conceived as a blues band, the members soon realized that there was more to their sound than just straight blues -- influences come from a wide range of artists, from Robert Johnson to Led Zeppelin to Jimmy Hendriks to Neil Young to Bob Dylan and the Duhks.
The age spread of the band, from 30s to 50s has turned out to be an advantage as everyone brings different musical influences to the table.
The band's first "dress rehearsal" was at De La Luz Performance Space in Carrboro which is home to Cat's Cradle. The band rented the performance space with the engineer and played before a mix of friends and local music professionals who offered critiques on the performance. (Thanks Jay and Jane of Velvet and Ken Yow of Franklin Street!)
The band's first public performance was a low-key hurricane-relief concert in front of the old Post Office on Franklin Street across the street from the stone walls of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The band was impressed and encouraged when those passing by stopped and applauded the music. Even the street people stopped to throw coins from their Styrofoam cups into the guitar case for the hurricane victims....
Our professional debut was on a Friday evening, Dec. 2, 2005 at The Cave, a rite of passage for bands in the Triangle area. Mr. Mouse is the owner and gave us the valuable opportunity and we responded with a solid performance that a packed audience of Cave dwellers enjoyed. And we made $81 when they passed the hat!...
Since then we adopted a new name and are playing regularly at the Cave, as well gigs at the Open Eye Cafe, Festifall in Chapel Hill, the Bynum Front Porch Music Series and the Southpoint Music Series and other venues.
If you're in the area, we hope you can come enjoy our music. Check us out at thehwy54band.com
Thanks!
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