Sundy Best has had a busy year, touring all over the United States and Canada, as well as releasing their latest album, ‘Salvation City.’ The band from Kentucky was formed by Kris Bentley and Nick Jamerson who have been friends since elementary school. New England Country Music recently got the chance to speak with Kris Bentley.
Kris said that he and Nick actually had a band before they went to college and that music has always been a really big part of their lives. Then once they got done with school they just “jumped right back into it.” Kris told us that being able to work with someone he has known for so long “makes it even that much more special to share it with someone you’ve known for a really long time. Never in a million years would have thought we would be doing what we’re doing today at the capacity we’re doing it at.”
The duo started out playing at restaurants patios and bars for “almost nobody except our friends and family that would come see us.” In the beginning they played a lot of cover songs and as they started writing their own music they began playing their own material. Just this year Kris and Nick have added two members to the band. The new guys, Stan and Teddy, play guitar and keyboard.
The band’s latest album, ‘Salvation City,’ which was released in December 2014, was written entirely by Kris and Nick. When they write they don’t really have a preference of writing together or separate. Kris told us they write, “anyway we can get a song going.” We asked Kris if he has a favorite song and he said, “that’s like asking a parent what their favorite kid is.” He then told us, “I’m really proud of the song ‘Four Door.’”
We asked Kris to try and describe the band’s sound for someone who hasn’t heard their music and he told us, “East Kentucky rock n roll, I don’t know. It is Sundy Best, I think that describes the sound. It’s pretty unique, it’s hard to compare just because of the instruments used and that sort of thing.” The band does have a very unique sound and that is in part because of the instrument which Kris plays; the cajon which is a wooden box that is played as a drum.
Sundy Best has been lucky enough to get to play at the The Grand Ole Opry multiple times. Kris said playing there is, “very surreal and almost overwhelming. We’ve played there I think 6 or 7 times now. It doesn’t necessarily get easier, but we’re just very blessed to have been given the opportunity to share our music there on that stage where so many of the greats have.” Being able to play at the Opry is extra special for Kris, since his grandparents always used to listen to the Grand Ole Opry on the radio. Playing at the Opry is special knowing how important it was to his grandparents.
Sirius XM’s “The Highway” has been playing Sundy Best’s music including the songs ‘Until I Met You,’ ‘Do You Wanna Go,’ and ‘I Wanna Go Home.’ CMT has also been playing the band’s videos. Kris told us that to have “those outlets be behind us and acknowledge what we’re doing is very special. Anytime our music can be heard in some form or fashion like that is really awesome. It never gets old hearing a song on the radio or seeing a video that we’ve done on TV.”
When it came to choosing which songs were going to be included on their latest album, they tried to choose the songs that they hadn’t recorded yet. They also wanted to make sure they chose a collection of songs that made an album rather than just a picking all of their favorites. He said it’s a fun process.
Sundy Best is going to be recording a live record in October at Mercury Ballroom in Louisville, KY. The album is going to include a couple of new songs. Kris said they’ve always wanted to do a live album and now that there are four of them in the band it felt like the right time to make one. He said they’ve spent a lot of time touring and being able to put together a live show that they are comfortable with putting on tape. “We are really excited to capture what happens at one of our shows. There are a lot of people that have our music that have never been able to see us live.”
Sundy Best is busy touring all over the US and Canada, which includes a stop in New England on September 26th at Thunder Road in Somerville, MA. They will continue touring through the end of the year and will start working on their next album which they are hoping will come out sometime early next year.