The Cleverlys

bluegrass

The Cleverlys are a comedy bluegrass act from the Ozark Mountains who perform in character as a fictional backwoods family. The group was formed in 2009 by Paul Harris, who grew up in Arkansas, moved to Nashville in 2006 and originally pitched the Cleverlys as a television concept before booking agents began asking for them as a live band. Harris appears as Dr. Digger Cleverly, the group's leader and director, on guitar and vocals. The stage family around him is Ziggy Cleverly, cast as Digger's son, on mandolin and vocals; Steven Tyler Dale on banjo and vocals; Plug Cleverly, a nephew, on bass and vocals; and Sock Cleverly, another nephew, on fiddle and vocals. The act's core device is rearranging modern hip-hop, pop and rhythm and blues hits for a straight-ahead acoustic bluegrass band, played to a genuine standard rather than as parody of the playing itself. Their repertoire has included versions of Justin Bieber's Baby, Psy's Gangnam Style and LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem, and several of those performances passed a million views on YouTube by 2019. Recordings include a self-titled album in 2011, Cash Crop in 2016 and Blue in 2019. The band made its Grand Ole Opry debut on July 15, 2011, has returned to that stage regularly, and has played the Telluride Bluegrass Festival along with festivals and performing arts centers nationwide. The New York Times and Rolling Stone have both written about the act, placing its comic timing in a line running back through country-comedy duos of the mid-twentieth century. Bookings run through theaters and bluegrass institutions, including the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky.

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Past shows in Tennessee

Where they play in Tennessee