Last updated: 8 hours ago
The wistful, poignant sound of Nashville's Blue Merle was born when singer/songwriter/guitarist Luke Reynolds met standup bassist Jason Oettel. The two had been together for only four months when they were offered their first production/publishing deal from the president of Sony Publishing, who was eavesdropping on a recording session. Reynolds and Oettel were blown away by the offer but wanted to work on forming a band, something that would put them up front in the music business rather than in the background. Mandolinist Beau Stapleton joined first, followed by drummer William Ellis, and -- borrowing a line from <a href="spotify:artist:36QJpDe2go2KgaRleHCDTp">Led Zeppelin</a>'s "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" -- the band chose the name Blue Merle. Opening for the likes of <a href="spotify:artist:244fcyNSuyhbRlMGfMbYrO">Badly Drawn Boy</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:06nsZ3qSOYZ2hPVIMcr1IN">J.J. Cale</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:4v4xuH9VypORYabMnhPLt1">Jem</a>, along with appearances at Farm Aid and Bonnaroo, built the band's fan base and had reviewers comparing their sound to everyone from <a href="spotify:artist:4j7EVY3kuDwLPfD2jfC7LC">Toad the Wet Sprocket</a> to <a href="spotify:artist:0vEsuISMWAKNctLlUAhSZC">the Counting Crows</a>. With the help of producer <a href="spotify:artist:3C0MakQ2Y4etHYIl4X2HcQ">Stephen Harris</a> (<a href="spotify:artist:51Blml2LZPmy7TTiAg47vQ">U2</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2TI7qyDE0QfyOlnbtfDo7L">the Dave Matthews Band</a>), the band released its debut, Burning in the Sun, on the Island label in early 2005. ~ David Jeffries, Rovi
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