The Granny Whites and Others To Perform at The Dog and Pony Show

By: Clark Shelton

The  Thompson’s Station Dog and Pony Show is coming September 28th and the free event showcases some great local talent. Mike Farris and the Roseland Rhythm and Blues, and The Wood Brothers are the headliners. But some local talent you may not have heard of will also be showcased. The Mables, Casey Wasner, and Zig Zag Mojo will be there, as well as a unique group of musicians ,who just released their first self-titled album, The Granny Whites. We took some time to talk to the “Grannies”, as these young musicians are affectionately known to their fans.

“This band is like a box of Forrest Gump chocolates, you truly do not know what you’re going to get. It ranges from smooth caramel jazz to bourbon smoked toffee blues, chewy folk to Dark chocolate rock with a sprinkling of mountain music drops.”

That’s the answer I got when I asked the band to describe their music. The Granny Whites granny press photo (1)started in 2010 in Nashville when ukelele & banjo specialist and singer, JK Camardella , originally from Springfield, Ma., met Missouri native Daphne Culver.  Culver, who also sings and plays guitar, mandolin, accordian and piano, had to be coerced to leave her job working under hoods of cars to pursue the dream. As time passed, Jacki Macri, a Tennessee native who started with a punk rock band, brought her percussion skills to the table. Romy North, a clarinet player at heart, brought her bass playing skills to the band. The final piece of this group fell in place when Anna Hogue, a Tampa, Fla. native who moved to Franklin 4 years ago, brought her silky choir voice and tambourine skills to the group.

In 2013, The Grannies decided to take a leap of faith. Their fan base, built through hours of performing at bars and many charitable events, kept asking for an album. Through Kickstarter, they found out their fans were serious: “ It was certainly a leap of faith for us. It was very tough for us to ask for help from an already extremely generous fan base. From the very start, we’ve had people helping us both with their time and finances and we felt almost selfish to ask for such large financial assistance. Not to mention we had recently done a string of benefits and had asked our fans to donate their time and finances for other wonderful causes. But our fans kept asking us for CD’s and merchandise and we finally realized that it wasn’t selfish at all as we were giving the people what they were wanting and asking for. The leap of faith was ultimately for them. “

One of the things that most people don’t realize is how hard it is to make it in the music world here. There’s a saying locally, ” if you want to meet a great unknown musician or songwriter in Nashville or the surrounding area, go to a bar or restaurant and they will serve you”. In the case of tambourine specialist and Granny White siren Anna Hogue, this is true. Anna, A server at Kimbro’s Cafe of Franklin,when she was discovered by the Grannies, now works at McCreary’s Pub and I asked her about her journey to Granny-dom:

Tell me how you got hooked up with The Granny Whites: ” I got with the Granny Whites by being in the right place at the right time. I was working at Kimbro’s Pickin Parlor and we had just started our open mic night. JK, Daphne, and Romy came in to do their thing and I was in awe. I sang “If it Hadn’t Been For Love”, my first time performing by myself in years, and then JK and I started talking. Eventually they all invited me to a band practice and the rest is history!”

How hard is it to be a server or bartender and find time to pursue a musical dream?: “Being a musician in Nashville means that you’re not really getting paid to play anywhere, so I have a day job at McCreary’s Irish Pub. Natasha Hendrix, the owner, makes it extremely easy on me to request off for shows. She has always understood that the music is very important to me. My co-workers are fantastic as well, and take my shifts when we book a show without any notice. I love the ability to have fun at both of my jobs!!”

Finally, I  asked Anna, what it is that keeps the 5 talented musicians together through thick and thin : ” The glue that keeps us together is our ability to laugh at ourselves through good and bad situations. We all have a pretty sick sense of humor, and we all can empathize with each other. “

Their self titled album “The Granny Whites” has met great success and tracks can often be heard playing on Lightning 100. They will have albums and T-shirts available for sale at The Dog and Pony Show and will go on stage at 11:30 a.m.

The Granny Whites are working on a second album. You are encouraged to come out and hear all of the great free music on September 28th at The Dog and Pony Show in Thompson’s Station! While you are there come visit The Williamson Source at our booth!

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