By Luke Brogden
Highway Love: Maggie Tharp captures the sound of the road on new release
As of late, there’s been a sensational uptick – a wave of sorts – in powerful female songwriters helming killer bands with hard-driving rock energy.
Case in point: Maggie Tharp.
She may be a newcomer to Spotify with her excellent debut release “Love, Maggie,” but the indie-pop songwriter and bandleader has been a fixture on the Knoxville scene for years, notably performing around town as Maggie and Owen with her musical partner who now plays lead guitar in the current band. Recorded with Nick Horner Family Records in Knoxville, the overall sound of the album is eclectic but falls generally from smooth pop to fiery rock to breezy country pop/rock.
Single “Highway Love” is the clear standout track, as the chorus is extremely catchy with Tharp layering her voice for a big sound on the hook. (There’s an excellent and high-quality live video on YouTube of Tharp performing the song with her band at the WDVX “Blue Plate Special.”)
“Northern Hwy” has the feel of a gentle ballad, but some excellent rock ornamentation adorns the edges of the number. “Shed My Tears” has a heavy riff that drops down to expose subtle bass for a dynamic touch each time Tharp sings a verse; the rebellious chorus is pop-country magic reminiscent of fictional character Juliette Barnes’ songs on the ABC drama “Nashville.” “The Sea,” meanwhile, features playful yet melancholy melodies that almost feel akin to modern, “Folklore”-era Taylor Swift.
Thematically, the songs are sensitive yet bold, reflective yet forward-looking. The result appears to be a product of time emboldening an artist who once was a cautious optimist. All in all, “Love, Maggie” is a strong debut effort by a seasoned performer that is sure to elevate Tharp’s profile soon, and it could be the beginning of an excellent recorded career for a special musician.
Mike Jones is in good ‘Company’
One of Knoxville’s most prolific songwriters is at it again.
On Dec. 27, Mike Jones released “Jones & Co.,” the third EP in the last year by the prolific artist, with more in the cooker. Since 2023, Jones has birthed into the world three full-length albums, seven extended plays and several singles.
On the newest release, Jones waxes poetic, gets romantic, shares heady ethereal metaphysical thoughts and more. He fluidly vacillates from John Lennon to Liam Gallagher to other notable touchstones.
Jones has steadily progressed with regard to the quality and quantity of his releases, and he has increased his presence in the local music scene in recent years since retiring from the military, with whom he served as a communications officer. He’s also concentrated on live performances. As he tells it, though, such developments were cultivated from humble roots.
“I fell in love with the indie DIY sound when I was a kid and heard a mixtape of obscure skater-punk tracks,” Jones says. “The bolt of lightning came from a track by the Ramones called ‘No Go.’ It was a three-chord rockabilly sound, but hearing it on a third-generation cassette through a battered boombox was absolute magic to me. Other ones like John Lennon’s ‘Instant Karma,’ the Violent Femmes’ first album … that non-polished but feels-right sound – that’s what I’ve been chasing.”
Jones plays all the instruments on most of his songs, but he’s not opposed to collaboration, and the list of the Knoxville mainstays he’s worked with in the past is substantial: Max Miller, Kevin Feeny, Colleen d’Alelio, Katie Adams, Michael deLisle, Brian Mashburn, Becki Grace, Emily Force-Tinsley, Drew Jones and Dominique Odens.
Since the local music community’s staggered return to form following the pandemic, multiple newer artists like Jones emerged, and the West Knoxville and downtown scenes began to interplay and merge more. Jones has been active in multiple Make Music Knoxville events like Build-a-Band, is often present at shows by his contemporaries and has even completed some short tours.
Across numerous releases, Jones evinces continued growth and evolution in his production, lyrical maturity and instrumentation, with his tracks generally getting tighter, hookier and more melodic as the timeline unfolds.
His songs – and especially those on “Jones & Co.” – contain thoughtful ruminations on love and life. Jones notes that he keeps his lyrics vague, poetic and abstract enough for listeners to be able to project their own meanings onto them so they can resonate more universally. The sound itself is sparse but dynamic, and the artist’s vocals cut through the mix clearly and plaintively.
The next opportunity to catch Jones live will be Feb. 13 at Suttree’s High Gravity Tavern, but look out for him around town and the region all spring and beyond.
Pat Beasley releases new EP; singer-songwriter to play Corner Lounge Feb. 20
Pat Beasley gradually became one of the veteran elder statesmen of the Knoxville music scene. Like many other excellent writers and performers, he hasn’t fully found his audience, and he feels disillusioned by scene politics, ageism and more in the local music biz, but over that same time he also has won the respect of most of the scene’s top togs, many of whom are featured performers on Beasley’s new EP “Knoxville Friends: Volume 1.”
Produced by longtime friend Matt Montgomery (Southern Cities, Common Creatures), the EP features Knoxville mainstay Andrew Tinsley on drums, and it also features as guest players several local legends: Michael “Crawdad” Crawley, Mic Harrison, Chris Lamb and Sean McCollough.
“Knoxville Friends” is the first in a series that will feature some of Beasley’s favorite collaborators across the years.
“I wanted to record with all these local musicians,” Beasley says, reminiscing about seeing them perform years ago as he was working on getting his own career started.
Lamb is best known as the leader of now-defunct Real Knoxville Music, an online radio platform that at its peak produced shows at Barley’s and the Sunsphere. For this album, he became a cowriter. He penned the brilliant “Still” with Beasley and former V-Roys star Harrison, a process that Beasley said took over two years to get right but which opened the door for more fruitful collaborations that might not have happened otherwise.
McCollough, of the Lonetones, guests on “Grandaddy’s Guitar.” “I immediately fell in love with the sound,” Beasley says of his remembrance of first hearing McCollough’s band.
“At the time, I was considering cutting this song from the album,” Beasley says of “Just Give Me a Reason,” to which Crawley contributes harmonica.
“It needed something – some energy, something – wasn’t sure,” Beasley says. “Crawdaddy added some great harp that gave the song the energy it needed. He sang some backup vocals on the song, too, that really helped. He nailed that song pretty quickly, so we had him throw in some harmonica on ‘Still’ while he was in the studio. Glad we did!”
Beasley has progressed sonically as he’s grown older. His past releases, many of which are available on streaming services, feature psychedelic blues and more experimental stuff, while the new material is breezy and gently jammy.
“A big difference in this recording is that, after the past three albums, I had more experience and better vision for what I wanted to create,” Beasley says. “In the past, I was more experimental and less practical.”
The Pat Beasley Band will play live at the Corner Lounge on Feb. 20. Check the venue’s socials for the specific time closer to the date of the performance.
