Culture
Ben Davis Jr. and The Revelry II Radio A Sessions
By: Emily Votaw
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Earlier this year, Ben Davis Jr. and the Revelry performed three tracks off of their deceptively-easy-to-pronounce album, Suthernahia in WOUB’s Radio A. The band kickstarted the set with the sunny propulsion of “Sunday Morning,” followed by the album’s poignant leading single, “Let Me In,” and closing with the delightfully raucous “I Think You Should.”
Before there was Ben Davis Jr. and the Revelry, there was just Ben Davis Jr., a musician who spent most of his childhood and young manhood in Jackson, OH; perfecting his chops at Pomeroy’s one and only juke joint, The Court Grill. Davis was booked at the 2014 Nelsonville Music Festival after the release of his self produced first EP, Day After Payday, sharing the festival’s bill with the likes of The Avett Brothers, Jason Isbell, Pokey LaFarge, and many others. After the festival, Davis continued to perform around Southeast Ohio, soon meeting lauded producer, engineer, musician (and Ohio University School of Media Arts and Studies faculty,) Eddie Ashworth (Pennywise, Sublime, Cordial Sins, Water Witches, Qiet) at a gig at Athens’ Casa Nueva.
Ashworth was so taken with Davis’ musical ability that he produced Davis’ next release, 2016’s Leaving Cincinnati. After a brief hiatus, Davis returned to the studio, this time joined by the Revelry, to craft the aformentioned 2019 release, Suthernahia, a record that is just as much a sincere ode to the beautiful and often bizarre part of the country that Davis grew up in as it is a fascinating and enjoyable hybrid of cosmic country, progressive rock, and intellectual balladry.
SET LIST
0:01 – “Sunday Morning”
3:29 – “Let Me In”
9:09 – “I Think You Should”
14:28 – Interview
MUSICIANS
Ben Davis Jr. – Guitar, vocals
Eddie Ashworth – Keyboards, mandolin
Ben Irvin – Guitar
Levi Westfall – Bass, backing vocals
Erik Miller – Drums
CREDITS
Producers: Emily Votaw, Adam Rich, Josh Miller
Audio Engineer: Adam Rich
Videographer: Josh Miller
Video editing: Evan Shaw and Josh Miller
Special thanks to Evan Shaw for use of his equipment
If you are a musical act in WOUB’s coverage area, and you are interested in appearing on WOUB’s Radio A Sessions, email Emily Votaw at votaw@woub.org or call her at 740-593-1492.