The Kentucky Gentlemen
The Kentucky Gentlemen’s unique brand of traditional roots music has been making waves in the midwest since the summer of 2012. Mitch King and Aaron Underwood have taken the duo format and turned it on its head, with scorching guitar riffs and heartfelt vocals that are met with the kind of rock-solid rhythm that can only be achieved when your bassist and drummer are the same person. This delicate balancing act is an enticing amalgam of homebrew tube amps, foot percussion, gritty vocals and old-school blues, and in just a year, they’ve mastered their craft so thoroughly that you’ll have to see them with your own eyes to believe that two people can produce such a full sound.
The Kentucky Gentlemen started off with a bang in their debut performance at the Wichita Blues Society’s annual blues challenge. They took the solo/duo category, winning the right to represent the WBS in Memphis at the 2013 International Blues Challenge. They capped off the summer with appearances at the Chautauqua Hills Blues Fest, the Kansas Brickyard Blues Blast, the Wichita Riverfest block party, the Spirit of Kansas Blues Festival, the Brews BBQ and Blues Fest in downtown Topeka, Blacktop Nationals motorcycle rally in Wichita, and finally, Hound Dog Blues Festival at Chandler Park in Tulsa, OK. In January 2014, in their second consecutive appearance at the International Blues Challenge, the KY Gents were semi-finalists, representing the Blues Society of the Ozarks out of Sprinfield, MO. They are currently in the process of booking a summer tour to promote an upcoming Kickstarter campaign to fund their debut EP.
The Kentucky Gentlemen have shared the bill with nationally acclaimed acts including Tab Benoit, Trampled Under Foot, Albert Cummings, Hadden Sayers, Little Ed and the Blues Imperials, Albert Castiglia, Bart Walker, Brandon Santini, Samantha Fish and Nick Moss, among others. Whether you see them at your local blues bar or your favorite coffee shop, The Kentucky Gentlemen always deliver bourbon soaked blues straight to your soul.