Parmalee @ The Grizzly Rose

It’s Friday night, September 29, with Parmalee in Denver, CO. Beers are flowing, dancers are dancing, and mind you, TWO PROPOSALS. The beauty of love transcending throughout the honky tonk. But the evening could not have started without the Brandon Jones Band. Staples at The Grizzly Rose, if you ask me!

Brandon Jones Band

Homegrown in the beautiful, rugged Black Hills, Brandon Jones has made a name for himself as one of the Midwest’s premiere entertainers. The band consists of Brandon Jones (vocals), Tom Frear (lead guitar and vocals), Leighton Weber (guitar), Josh Lehman (bass) Mike Grosek (drums). They are absolutely wonderful and incredibly entertaining. Be sure to catch them when they come back to the rose.

pulled from a previous PCD post (Michael Ray)

Parmalee

Known for their distinct family harmony, irresistible melodies, and sure-fire radio favorites, including Billboard’s Most Played Country Song of 2022, “Take My Name,” Parmalee has not-so-quietly become one of the genre’s most undeniable contemporary country hitmakers.

The group – comprised of brothers Matt Thomas (guitar/lead vocals) and Scott Thomas (drums), along with their cousin Barry Knox (bass) and life-long friend Josh McSwain (guitar) – has accumulated more than 1 billion on-demand streams and three No. 1 hits including their breakthrough hit “Carolina,” the Blanco Brown collaboration “Just The Way” and “Take My Name.”

Getting to this point took a near-death experience, a second mortgage, and over 20 years of grinding it out together. The band formed in 2001, worked day jobs, and toured on the weekends until they signed with Stoney Creek Records in 2011 – a milestone the band nearly didn’t achieve.

Tragic but Triumphant

In September of 2010, with “Carolina” a staple in their live shows, Parmalee was playing as many concerts as they could in preparation to come to Nashville and showcase for labels the following month. One night, the band performed a set for 15 people in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and made $15. They were traveling in an RV outfitted with bunks and parked at the venue. Scott was in his bunk when someone knocked on the bus door. Matt opened the door and was met with a gun to his head.

The robber fired his gun in the RV. Matt shouted for Scott, who had his carry permit and his pistol tucked under his bunk. Scott emerged from the back to diffuse the situation and while taking out both assailants, was shot three times.

“So here we are at the highest point of our career, just thinking we’re going to get a record deal,” Scott said.

“Then this all happens in a flash, and he’s on the couch bleeding out,” Matt added.

Scott was airlifted to a hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the middle of the night and received two blood transfusions in transit. When his bandmates arrived at the hospital, they were told Scott had a five percent chance of survival. The drummer was in a coma for 10 days and spent another 30 days in the hospital recovering.

Five months later, he hobbled on stage to play a showcase with Parmalee for Stoney Creek Records – who signed them immediately. “That is just part of our story – what we’ve been through and sticking it out. Same four guys, too, not nobody else in the band.”

pulled from their website