Kudzu Kings is an

alternative country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...

roots rock Roots rock is a genre of rock music that looks back to rock's origins in contemporary folk music, folk, blues, and country music. First emerging in the late 1960s, it is seen as a response to the perceived excesses of the then dominant psychedel ...

jam band A jam band is a musical group whose concerts and live albums substantially feature improvisational "jam session, jamming". Typically, jam bands will play variations of pre-existing songs, extending them to musical improvisation, improvise ove ...

from

Oxford, Mississippi Oxford is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, 14th most populous city in Mississippi, United States, and the county seat of Lafayette County, Mississippi, Lafayette County, southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis. A college town, Oxford ...

. Their first two albums were the self-titled ''Kudzu Kings'', followed by ''Y2Kow'', released in 1999. Their sound has been categorized as a blend of

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

, bluegrass and improvisational

rock & roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

History

The band was actively together and toured aggressively for almost ten years (1994–2003). Subsequently, Kudzu Kings played regularly in the Southeast for festivals, benefits, obscure astrological events, or big paychecks to tamper with their unique chemistry. In addition, members worked on various projects, both solo and with other Kudzu members. Some current projects the Kings have sired are Pithecanfunkus Erectus, Tate Moore and the Cosmic Door, Effie Burt Band, Hemptones, Sparkle Pants, Blackbird Hour, and Rocket 88. In their touring years together, the band garnered substantial success in the

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, and

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, in addition to spreading their base to the rest of the nation and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

with a number of tours. They have shared the stage many times with

Widespread Panic Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell (musician), John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Duane Trucks, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJ ...

(with whom longtime Kudzu guitarist

George McConnell George McConnell is an American singer from Vicksburg, Mississippi. He has played for the bands Widespread Panic, Kudzu Kings, and Beanland. History George McConnell attended the University of Mississippi, where he was in the Sigma Alpha Ep ...

eventually joined up with in 2002), as well as with many other artists, including

Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with the Other Ones, later known as the Dead ...

and

Rob Wasserman Rob Wasserman (April 1, 1952 – June 29, 2016) was an American composer and bass player. A Grammy Award and NEA grant winner, he played and recorded with a wide variety of musicians including Bob Weir, Bruce Cockburn, Elvis Costello, Ani di ...

Leftover Salmon Leftover Salmon is an American jam band from Boulder, Colorado, formed in 1989. The band's music is a blend of bluegrass, rock, country, and Cajun/ Zydeco (Polyethnic Slamgrass). Over their thirty years as a band, Salmon has released seven s ...

Jimmie Dale Gilmore Jimmie Dale Gilmore (born May 6, 1945) is an American country singer-songwriter currently living in Austin, Texas. Life and career Gilmore is a native of the Texas Panhandle, having been born in Amarillo and raised in Lubbock, Texas. His ear ...

and

Junior Brown Jamieson "Junior" Brown (born June 12, 1952) is an American country guitarist and singer. He has released twelve studio albums in his career, and has charted twice on the ''Billboard'' country singles charts. Brown's signature instrument is t ...

, just to name a few. Kudzu Kings have also welcomed a number of guest musicians to collaborate over the years (sometimes sitting in for several shows for absent members) including

Chris Ethridge John Christopher Ethridge (February 10, 1947 – April 23, 2012) was an American country rock bass guitarist. He was a member of the International Submarine Band (ISB) and The Flying Burrito Brothers, and co-wrote several songs with Gram Pars ...

Bucky Baxter William "Bucky" Baxter (1955May 25, 2020) was an American guitarist. He is best known as a member of Steve Earle, Steve Earle and The Dukes and as a member of Bob Dylan's backing band in the mid-90s during the Never Ending Tour. He released hi ...

John "Jojo" Hermann John "JoJo" Hermann (born July 18, 1962) is an American singer, musician and songwriter, best known for his involvement in the band Widespread Panic. Early life He was born in New York City and attended Collegiate School, where he was a class ...

(of

), Cody Dickinson (of

North Mississippi All-Stars North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

), and Tony Furtado.

Band members

Members include (but not limited to): ;Current Members * Tate Moore – acoustic guitars, vocals * Dave Woolworth – bass, baroque doghouse, vocals * Robert Chaffe – keyboards *

(1995–2001; 2014 –) – acoustic and electric guitars, vocals * Max Williams (1994–1997; 2004 –) – electric and acoustic guitars, vocals *

Chuck Sigler Chuck () is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV produce ...

(1994-2000;2018 -) funk and western drums, vocals ;Former Members * Tommy Bryan Ledford (1997–2003) – banjo, mandolin, vocals * Daniel Karlish (2001–2003) – electric & slide guitar, vocals *Ted Gainey (1999-2000, numerous occasions and extended stays including 2014 -) – drums * Chris "Wolfy" Louviere (1999-2000) – drums * Jefferson E. Colburn (2000–2003) – drums * CD Overton (2003-2014) – drums Sometimes with: * JJ Callaway – trombone * Cary Hudson (Blue Mountain) – guitar ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:25 PlotArea = left:120 bottom:80 top:10 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1994 till:12/31/2016 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:eguitar value:yellow legend:Electric Guitar id:doghouse value:gray(0.5) legend:Baroque Doghouse id:banjo value:drabgreen legend:Banjo id:aguitar value:green legend:Acoustic Guitar id:keyboards value:purple legend:Keyboards id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:mandolin value:pink legend:Mandolin id:sguitar value:lavender legend:Slide Guitar id:lines value:black legend:Studio albums id:bars value:gray(0.95) Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:3 Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:1 BackgroundColors = bars:bars ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:1995 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1995 LineData = at:03/21/1997 color:black layer:back at:03/30/1999 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:Tate text:"Tate Moore" bar:Dave text:"Dave Woolworth" bar:Robert text:"Robert Chaffe" bar:George text:"George McConnell" bar:Max text:"Max Williams" bar:Ted text:"Ted Gainey" bar:Tommy text:"Tommy Bryan Ledford" bar:Daniel text:"Daniel Karlish" bar:Chuck text:"Chuck Sigler" bar:Wolfy text:"Chris "Wolfy" Louviere" bar:Jefferson text:"Jefferson E. Colburn" bar:CD text:"CD Overton" PlotData= width:11textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Tate from:03/14/1994 till:end color:aguitar bar:Tate from:03/14/1994 till:end color:vocals width:5 bar:Dave from:03/14/1994 till:end color:bass bar:Dave from:03/14/1994 till:end color:vocals width:5 bar:Dave from:03/14/1994 till:end color:doghouse width:3 bar:Robert from:03/14/1994 till:end color:keyboards bar:George from:03/14/1994 till:03/14/2001 color:aguitar bar:George from:03/14/1994 till:03/14/2001 color:eguitar width:5 bar:George from:03/14/1994 till:03/14/2001 color:vocals width:3 bar:George from:03/14/2014 till:end color:aguitar bar:George from:03/14/2014 till:end color:eguitar width:5 bar:George from:03/14/2014 till:end color:vocals width:3 bar:Max from:03/14/1994 till:03/14/1997 color:eguitar bar:Max from:03/14/1994 till:03/14/1997 color:aguitar width:5 bar:Max from:03/14/1994 till:03/14/1997 color:vocals width:3 bar:Max from:03/14/2004 till:end color:eguitar bar:Max from:03/14/2004 till:end color:aguitar width:5 bar:Max from:03/14/2004 till:end color:vocals width:3 bar:Ted from:03/14/1999 till:03/14/2000 color:drums bar:Ted from:03/14/2014 till:end color:drums bar:Tommy from:03/14/1997 till:03/14/2003 color:banjo bar:Tommy from:03/14/1997 till:03/14/2003 color:mandolin width:5 bar:Tommy from:03/14/1997 till:03/14/2003 color:vocals width:3 bar:Daniel from:03/14/2001 till:03/14/2003 color:eguitar bar:Daniel from:03/14/2001 till:03/14/2003 color:sguitar width:5 bar:Daniel from:03/14/2001 till:03/14/2003 color:vocals width:3 bar:Chuck from:03/14/1994 till:03/14/1999 color:drums bar:Wolfy from:03/14/1999 till:03/14/2000 color:drums bar:Jefferson from:03/14/2000 till:03/14/2003 color:drums bar:CD from:03/14/2003 till:03/14/2014 color:drums

Discography

Kudzu Kings (1997)

* Produced by Jim Gaines and engineered by Jeffrey Reed * AllMusic review * OffBeat review

Y2Kow (1999)

* Produced and engineered by Jeffrey Reed * ''CMJ'' (5/8/00, p. 32) – "...a winning blend of

, traditional country and

Delta blues Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...

True Tales From The Bike Race (2022)

* Double LP. Recorded live in Ridgeland, Mississippi October 15, 2016 at Madison Bicycle Club Race.

References

External links

* https://kudzukings.com {{Authority control American alternative country groups Jam bands Musical groups established in 1994 1994 establishments in Mississippi