Contact: Kenneth Billings
STARKVILLE, Miss.--The silky tenor voice Jason Graham singing "Carry On" can capture even the most schooled musical ear and is a favorite among audiences who have heard it live.
The original tune is more than just the title cut from of his band's latest CD. Graham and his fellow musicians are members of Nash Street, a contemporary, Starkville-based bluegrass group with roots deep in East Mississippi.
If the right people soon agree that Nash Street and "Carry On" are special, the band could win a $100,000 grand prize in Nashville. Thursday [Jan. 24], they are among competitors in the final round of the Colgate Country Showdown hosted by country music star and Mississippi native LeAnn Rimes.
Graham, 23, Hannah Melby, 22, Daniel Hare, 21, Clay Lezon, 23, are Mississippi State University students, while 18-year-old Caroline Melby is Hannah's sister and a Starkville High School senior. (The Melbys, Graham and Hare are from Starkville; Lezon, from Tupelo.)
Graham's voice, accompanied by a smooth blend of guitar, mandolin, fiddle, and upright bass, will pit the group's blend of country and bluegrass against the talents of four other regional finalists at the Ryman Auditorium, original home of the Grand Ole Opry. The winner will have the ears of some of country music's most influential insiders when they take the stage.
Nash Street earned their spot in the national competition by winning a local competition in "Ham Jam," Philadelphia's spring arts and crafts festival. They then progressed through several other state and regional competitions.
"We never really new the extent of the Colgate when we decided to enter," said Hannah, the fiddle player. "Part of the prize in the local show was recording time and that's primarily what motivated us to enter. It wasn't until we got to the state level that we really realized how big it was."
At that point, the 22-year-old communication major and her musical mates came to fully appreciate the possible professional exposure level for which they were competing.
Nash Street was formed in 1996 when Hare and Hannah Melby, classmates at Starkville Middle School, formed a musical group to play locally at square dances, church socials and civic club meetings. After several personnel changes, including the addition of Caroline Melby, the band's popularity began to spread.
When Graham signed on two years ago to "temporarily" fill in, things really began to fall into place. His smooth vocals proved to a perfect mix with Hannah's intense fiddle sawyering, the melancholy sounds of the Caroline's mandolin, Lezons' flat guitar picking, and Hare's brooding bass.
Nash Street calls its sound "grassroots country" and the young musicians insist that it sets them far apart from other up-and-coming contemporaries. To date, the group has produced two albums, the most recent of which, "Carry On," is their first foray into original music that features the flavorful blend of what has become their signature sound.
Since advancing to the national competition, the quintet has had the opportunity to earlier visit Nashville and mix with some top industry executives. They've also played at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, the "world famous" Music City night club located adjacent to the Ryman Auditorium.
"This opportunity has introduced us to so many people in the business," Hannah Melby said. "Having the chance to meet and learn what this industry is all about from those on the inside, things we never would have dreamed of, has been the best part so far."
Added Graham: "Since they moved the Grand Ole Opry from the Ryman, very few performers actually get to perform there. To have the opportunity to play on the same stage where so many legends have gone before just blows me away. It's almost like it is hallowed ground."
The Colgate Country Showdown will be taped for broadcasting on country music channel GAC and local Fox Network affiliates in the spring. More details may be found at http://www.countryshowdown.com/.
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For more about Nash Street, visit www.nashstreet.com and http://www.myspace.com/nashstreet.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.