The HillBenders Meet The Who in "Tommy: A Bluegrass Opry"

By Annette Hinkle

Though bluegrass traces its roots back to old English ballads, as an American music form it’s hardly a genre that evokes comparison to the British Invasion of the 1960s.

But back to the ‘60s is exactly where one bluegrass band is taking it.

In June, The HillBenders, a five-piece group out of Springfield, Missouri, released an album in which they play (and sing) the story of that “deaf, dumb and blind kid” from The Who’s seminal 1969 rock opera. This Saturday as part of the Sag Harbor American Music Festival, The HillBenders will take the stage at Bay Street Theater to perform “Tommy: A Rock Opry” in concert — from the opening strains of “Overture” to the final notes of “We’re Not Gonna Take It.”

And they’ll do it on the most un-rock like of instruments — banjo, mandolin and dobro.

The truth is, a project like this is quite an undertaking for any band, let alone a bluegrass one. But just as the 1960s were the right decade for British bands in America, The HillBenders, it turns out, are the right bluegrass band for The Who.

At least that’s what Louis Jay Meyers thought.

For years Mr. Meyers, a co-founder of the annual South by Southwest music festival in Austin, had been looking to produce a bluegrass version of “Tommy”— he was just waiting for the right band to come along.

“He’s been a friend for a long time and we’ve been at his festivals,” explains Nolan Lawrence, The HillBenders' lead singer and mandolin player. “He came up to us and said ‘I’ve got this crazy idea I’ve thought about for 20 years, but haven’t found the right band until now. I want to do ‘Tommy’ on bluegrass.’”

“We’re all like, ‘Really?’” continues Mr. Lawrence, “and our guitar player was, ‘Yes!’”

That’s because guitarist Jim Rea is a major Who fan. He fell in love with “Tommy” after seeing it in a theater at the age of 12 or so.

“And from that age on, he knew every song,” explains Mr. Lawrence.

But while there was plenty of enthusiasm to go around about the project, before committing to “Tommy,” The HillBenders had to ensure the music (and vocals) would follow. After all, rock and bluegrass don’t necessarily translate organically from one to the other. So they began by tackling the piece’s big hits like “Acid Queen” and “Pinball Wizard.”

“We started working on a couple of the songs to see if it would work,” recalls Mr. Lawrence. “Those first three or four songs sounded great and we got more excited talking about how to record it, touring and the process.”

“So we dove in head first,” he adds.

Because he loved The Who knew and knew the “Tommy” score so well, Mr. Rea was a natural in the role of musical director for the project. He arranged the songs for his fellow HillBenders and sent the charts to his band mates so they could learn the score. Then they all met in a practice room to put it all together. But Mr. Lawrence notes that it didn’t always go smoothly.

“There were definitely some problematic areas,” he admits. “It’s a drum heavy record, so retaining that drive and angst was a challenge. It took a while to get those sounds under our fingers and for us to get comfortable in that voicing, and internalize it in that sense.”

“We spent two and a half to three months learning the material,” he says. “Including the vocals.”

Those vocals, of course, were originally provided by Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend, two rock legends who most musicians would be intimidated to emulate. But as fate would have it, before he was a mandolin player Mr. Lawrence was an accomplished singer who studied vocal performance and choral music in college. It’s a skill that served him well with this project.

“The vocals are wild crazy — four and five part harmonies and not straight up,” says Mr. Lawrence. “It’s a challenging piece of work.”

In determining who would sing which parts on “Tommy,” The HillBenders decided not to assume specific vocal “roles” per se, but rather go with whichever voice matched up best with the range and the part.

“It was not a hard and fast rule of Daltry vs. Townshend. We did trade off here and there and ended up singing what fit our voices best,” explains Mr. Lawrence. “Jimmy [Rea] did most of Townshend and I did most of the rest, but we didn’t always stick to that.”

“It’s not just about the complexity, but the range,” he adds. “Many of my Daltry parts are so high and sit at the top of the register for measure after measure, it was challenging toward the end. It’s easier on me now — that level of intensity and volume.”

During the process of learning the instrumentals and the vocals, it was about more than understanding just the music of “Tommy.” Mr. Lawrence and his fellow musicians also had to immerse themselves in the characters and the story of the rock opera.

“It’s a crazy story and there’s some serious genius in there,” he says. “The intensity and the feel — and the evil in some of it — as well as the happiness and joy.”

“It’s an emotional in-depth piece of work and none of us, except Jimmy had a respect for the level of depth that went into it,” adds Mr. Lawrence. “We very much respect that now.”

Since the release of their “Tommy” album in June, The HillBenders, who have traveled around the country playing it in concert, have been met by with great enthusiasm both by fans of bluegrass and rock and roll. Rolling Stone magazine recently named The HillBenders “Tommy” performance as one of the 27 “must see acts” at the Americana Music Festival and Conference held last week in Nashville.

“So many people are affected by the music and the story,” says Mr. Lawrence. “To see peoples’ reactions and faces and smiles is really special. I think that comes from the original creation of ‘Tommy’ — not just our interpretations.”

To that end, if The HillBenders needed any added assurances that they got this project right, it came a few months back when “Tommy’s” creator, Pete Townshend himself, contacted the band to let them know he approves.

“He has heard the record, but hasn’t seen the show yet,” says Mr. Lawrence, adding that the Hillbenders were invited to The Who’s recent concert in Nashville and went backstage afterwards to visit with Mr. Townshend.

“Pete’s supportive and he started asking about it and is creating buzz about it,” he adds. “It’s really great, to have him on board.”

The HillBenders perform “The Who's Tommy: A Bluegrass Opry” as part of the Sag Harbor American Music Festival. 9 p.m. Saturday, September 26, 2015 Bay Street Theater, Long Wharf, Sag Harbor. Tickets are $25. Visit www.SagHarborMusic.org to reserve.

The fifth annual Sag Harbor American Music Festival runs September 25 to 27 with main stage concerts as well as free music by dozens of musical acts at venues around the village.