CULLMAN – When Jesse Turner and his friends got together in October of 2015 to form BoomTown, they had no idea it would be something they would be pursuing full-time within a year.
“That first weekend we got together we decided to compete in the Loretta Lynn Pickin Jamboree,” Turner said. “We didn’t think anything would come of it, we were just doing it for fun, you know.”
Well, after that weekend, BoomTown not only had the honor of receiving first prize in the Loretta Lynn Pickin’ Jamboree, but they also knew they were headed in the right direction and had the confidence to continue performing as a band.
The band is comprised of Michael Williams on vocals and bass, Wayne Marlow on vocals and mandolin, Damion Kidd on resonator guitar, Mike Broadway on banjo and Turner on vocals and acoustic guitar.
“Right now we’re just playing this whole thing by ear,” Turner said, regarding his vision for the band. “Our goal is to be able to do this (perform and tour as BoomTown) full-time within a year.”
Turner is the unofficial spokesperson for the band and describes the group as a very happy-go-lucky bunch.
“We’re just a group of buddies that have played music all our lives,” he said. “We just wanted to see what we could do together.”
With the exception of one of the members, all of the band’s musicians are from north Alabama. (The exception is from Tennessee).
The band is, first and foremost, bluegrass. However, Turner does not want that to be a deterrent to anyone.
“I would describe our sound as bluegrass with a twist,” Turner said. “I do not want people to view BoomTown, you know, as ‘traditional bluegrass.’ I want people to say, ‘if you don’t like bluegrass, have you listened to BoomTown? Because you might like them.’”
Turner said that the future of the band is good, with “some things going on and in the works.”
BoomTown recently played a show at Berkeley Bob’s Coffeehouse, and is scheduled to be back on September 9, with another local show at Karma’s Coffeehouse in between.
The band has two other high-profile shows coming up this summer. They will perform at the Orange Blossom Opry in Orlando, Florida on June 24; on July 9 the band will perform at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.
The thing that keeps Turner and his buddies coming back to bluegrass after all these years is that there is always something to learn.
“I have been playing guitar for 18 years,” Turner said, “but there is always something to learn. Bluegrass is a constant challenge. Every time I pick my guitar up to go to a festival I learn something new. You can show up to a festival, and there is some 10-year-old kid that can play your socks off on the guitar. Bluegrass gets in your blood. We’re all just a big bluegrass family.”
