Greg hester
What can we say about Greg Hester? After delivering two amazing albums that range from southern soul to country, he hit us early this year with a massive tribute to the late great James Brown. And yes, it was with Mr. Brown’s band - Keith Jenkins, Ron Laster, Mousey Thompson, Fred Wesley, Hollie Farris, and more. With guest vocalists from Raul Malo to Col. Bruce Hampton to Jimmy Hall. SOUL BROTHER WHERE ART THOU? is a record for the ages
Release Date: march 17, 2015
Release Date: october 25, 2011
Greg Hester is perhaps the best kept secret of the South. His career spans two decades as he moved steadily from a young country rocker to a seasoned soul man and songwriter. In 2009 Greg dropped the perennially funky ‘Hustlers, Killers, and Thieves’, featuring members of the James Brown band, to excellent reviews. 2012 will mark the release of Greg’s long term project, ‘Soul Brother Where Art Thou’, a tribute to James Brown with a variety of very special guests.
In the midst of this whirlwind of creativity, Greg has been writing and recording HIS songs. Songs that in retrospect chronicle his life in the new millennium. Recorded over the last decade at Eric McConnell's east Nashville studio, the songs tell of the highs and lows. From the loss of his mother, father, and sister to the birth of his son. From the loss of his home to support of established musicians who always seem to be by his side. Musicians who know that Greg Hester lives for music, and that music lives for him.
about greg hester
Few artists truly exemplify the place they are coming from in this world. Greg tells the story of a place he knows all to well, when he talks about struggling he knows it firsthand. Meet a man who has given it his all to achieve being a musician. Meet a man who makes an ugly situation beautiful by telling the story of a time and place, a photograph of the current world. One can even look beyond Greg's soulful voice and find a songwriter that stands far beyond the normal crowd. He belongs to the elite class of songwriters, people who can witness their world, capture a story, and make one feel that the power of music can bring hope.
Take one part soul man, take one part Augusta, Georgia native, add in the blessing and backing band from one of the most legendary entertainers that has ever walked this Earth, Mr. James Brown. And what do you get? Mr. Greg Hester and the LG's. A southern boy raised on soul and the goodness it can bring into the world. Greg captures the stories and tales from his gritty southern world and brings them to life with a catchy groove, "ya' feeling sweet cause you on the beat"- as Mr. Danny Ray supports Greg. A talented songwriter who has spent countless years in the music industry, being kicked down and knocked around. BUT as Greg emerges with Ropeadope in his corner, he will have far more support to STAND STRONG, telling his story, singing his words. Greg Hester and Ropeadope recently released a powerhouse of an album, one that would knock almost any soul album in the last twenty years to shame, bringing in grooves and horn melodies that the soul world hasn't seen in decades. Take a deeper look, though, and find that Greg is telling a story about a place where not everything is so bright and shiny, where people are forced to make their choices and make them wisely. Greg is by no means an average man, his time in the music world will show you that, always getting up when the fighting got hard and never taking no for his answer. We at Ropeadope are proud to have a man giving it his all at our fingertips, cause as long as he keeps singing with his soul, we will be in his corner to back him.