brother ben music stage
sponsored by: townsquare media
will stewart
elliott devaughn
electric blue yonder
lydia loveless
brother ben music stage schedule
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17
9:30-10:30am – Asa J. Harris
11:00am-12:00pm – Elliott Devaughn
12:30-1:45pm – Electric Blue Yonder
2:15-3:30pm – Sam and the Big Boys
3:45-5:00pm – Will Stewart
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18
10:00-11:00am – Vulcan Eejits!
11:30am-12:30pm – Wanda
1:00-2:15pm – Ham Bagby and the Siege
2:45-4:00pm – Lydia Loveless
about the artists
artists listed in order of appearance
Asa J. Harris grew up listening to the legends of country music on a radio station that covered the wiregrass region of southeast Alabama. Today, he creates and shares his own recipe of "moonshine music" -- underproduced and without labels. This music is high-proof and cuts through the sonic environment of modern America.
From along the banks of the Chattahoochee River, Asa J. Harris developed a unique sound-- a strange brew of country, folk, and bluegrass. He has played his music on stages and flatbeds, beside bonfires and barns. He has recorded an album in Austin, Texas and recorded cell phone demos in Viñales, Cuba. No matter what you've heard, you haven't heard Asa J. Harris.
Singer-songwriter and musician Elliott Devaughn was born in Northeast Mississippi and currently resides in Booneville, Mississippi. Growing up surrounded by various types of music, she found herself particularly drawn to indie rock. A chance encounter with Mississippi musician Jimbo Mathus inspired her to take progressive guitar lessons from him. Elliott credits Jimbo's guidance as a significant factor in her growth as an artist and continues to collaborate with him on her new songs. Elliott's sound, a captivating blend of indie folk rock, is heavily influenced by iconic bands such as Sonic Youth, The Velvet Underground, and The Strokes. At the beginning of 2025, Elliott fully immersed herself in her music career.. In July 2026, she released her debut EP, “Stuck In Limbo,” a collection of songs recorded during her sessions at Zebra Ranch and produced by Jimbo Mathus.
Electric Blue Yonder (EBY) is a band of Space Folk Explorers born in Montgomery, Alabama and based in Key West, Florida. Their music blends the roots of early bluegrass and parlor traditions with the expansive sounds of psychedelic folk, cosmic country, and art rock. With rich vocal harmonies and a deep curiosity about the human condition, EBY crafts songs that feel both timeless and otherworldly—familiar, yet impossible to pin down.
Sam & The Big Boys is a rock and roll band from Gadsden, Alabama, built on a simple recipe: loud guitars, tightly knit harmonies, and exceptionally good times. Formed by actual brothers with a lifelong love for music, they're steadily carving out a spot in Northeast Alabama’s music scene with a sound that's as familiar as it is fresh and exciting.
"As one of the brightest and most prolific new songwriters to emerge from the Birmingham music scene over the past few years, Will Stewart has made a name for himself as both an imaginative storyteller and six string gunslinger whose detailed accounts of life around the Deep South seem to capture the essence of not just the humid, kudzu-covered environs they come out of, but also the creative cultural milieu that makes such narratives possible in the first place. Taking cues from everyone from Big Star and R.E.M., to Phosphorescent and the Drive-By Truckers, and even classic Southern literary figures like Eudora Welty and Barry Hannah, Stewart has managed to carve out a place for himself as a conjurer of time, place and characters— and the stories that swirl around them— in a way that’s simultaneously reflective, empathetic and unapologetic in their presentation."
Vulcan Eejits!
From lively tunes that are great for dancing to a variety of soulful songs and stories to make you laugh or cry, this family band has something for everyone!
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Jil Chambless—vocals, flute/whistles. This Alabama native became hooked on Celtic music in the late 1980s when she joined the band Henri’s Notions. Since then Jil has been a prominent figure on the Celtic music scene, performing with various Celtic music groups around the country and abroad, including Ed Miller Band, Scooter Muse (Chambless & Muse), the Mairtin de Cogain Project (with Don Penzien), and others, as well as with the Eejits! She has completed many recordings and has appeared as a guest artist on others’ projects. Check out www.jilchambless.weebly.com.
Dan Vogt — guitar, bouzouki, vocals. Dan is a long-time rocker, playing electric guitar in various Tuscaloosa-based rock bands, since coming to Alabama in the early 1980s. After listening to Celtic music and attending many Celtic music events with Jil for many years, Dan became interested in playing Celtic-style acoustic guitar in DADGAD tuning. Later he picked up the bouzouki and more recently the tenor banjo. Now he’s completely hooked on Irish, Scottish, English, and American folk and traditional music! Dan also works at www.theguitargallery.com.
Jack Vogt - drum set, vocals. Jack Vogt is a professional jazz drummer and composer located in the central Alabama area. Born and raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Jack studied jazz drumming at the University of New Orleans. He now lives in Birmingham and is a popular drummer-for hire in the heart of Alabama.
Wanda is a 31-year-old singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and front-woman of The Wanda Band. Based in North Alabama, Wanda has captivated audiences since she first took the stage at 14. Tuscaloosa remains her favorite place to play, and she joins us at Kentuck for the second time this year. "It's just a lot of fun!"
Ham Bagby was born in 1978, the youngest child of an Episcopal priest and a loving mother. He’s a pretty tall guy. It’s literally the first thing everyone and anyone says to him. Ham has been a janitor twice, worked in food service, stocked shelves, and done maintenance. He started playing music at 13 because he wanted to play when he was six, but that was when he got his first guitar. Ham Bagby lived in Tuscaloosa, Alabama for almost twenty years where he crafted his show’s mix of humor, southern flair, and attempted virtuosity. His Influences include Jimi Hendrix, Willie Nelson, and Prince—obviously— Roger Miller, Weird Al, Thin Lizzy, Waylon Jennings, and Tuscaloosa’s own The Dexateens.
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As a solo artist, Ham fronts Ham Bagby and the Siege, but has always been a willing gun slinger for other bands, like Blaine Duncan and the Lookers, The Ne’er-do-Well’s, and Motel Ice Machine. More casually, he has played on recordings by Cy Simonton and Knympho Knife. In 2012, he released Shits Crucial Is Track 7 which is only available to stream, in 2020 came Trying Not To Die and 2022 brought All Filler which are both on CD as well as digital platforms.
In 2025, Ham Bagby played on the Love Ray album Southern Shaman, on the song Birmingham.
New music is planned for 2026 and lots of live shows as always.
Lydia Loveless, is an Americana/bootgaze singer/songwriter whose music makes room for contemporary pop influences and roots music without betraying their fearless personal lyrical stance. Often described as twang with teeth, Loveless has been featured everywhere from NPR to Rolling Stone. They have new music coming this Fall on Bloodshot Records.
why 'brother ben'?
The Brother Ben Music Stage is named in honor of folk artist B.F. Perkins.
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About BF:
Alabama farm boy, underage Merchant Marine, U.S. Marine and Presidential bodyguard, FBI agent, revival tent minister, celebrated folk artist from Fayette, Alabama. All are chapters in the remarkable life of Benjamin Franklin Perkins who, like his namesake, followed his curiosities, ambitions, and higher callings to explore the world, serve his country and free his soul. He attended the Kentuck Festival of the Arts for many years and his artwork is in many private collections and museum collections around the world.