Written by Renee Collins Cobb, M.Ed. and Warren Cobb
When two complimentary notes are sung or played in perfect pitch, a phenomenon occurs. The related frequencies actually split, like light through a prism, and overtones can be heard. It almost sounds like angel voices singing along in perfect harmony. They can be difficult to hear, they glimmer in and out like faulty radio reception, but they are there, a little miracle waiting to be discovered. - From "Running Barefoot" by Amy Harmon
On June 30th, 2022, OVERTONES LIVE presented "An Evening with The Goodwin Brothers at The Tipsy Cow in Georgetown, KY. Little did we know when we asked this amazing band to “work in concert” with us, this one night experience would evolve into a beautiful LIVE work of musical art that we get to share with the world.
Overtones LIVE Presents The Goodwin Brothers is being released on Vinyl, CD and DVD
"The nucleus of the The Goodwin Brothers band is Jonathan Goodwin on guitar, Will Goodwin on mandolin, and adopted “brother” Chase Bush on vocals. Jonathan and Will both sing as well, and have perfected the sort of brother duet harmony that has fueled bluegrass music since the very beginning, even though contemporary grass typically adds the third harmony part." - John Lawless, Bluegrass Today
All three vocalists have collected much praise for their vocal performances, with Chase Bush becoming a finalist on American Idol in 2004 after being the recipient of the Golden Ticket to Hollywood following the delivery of two highly esteemed "yes's" from Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson. Jonathan and brother Will have been full-time professional musicians all their lives.
For this new project, the brothers have brilliantly orchestrated a most outstanding musical dream team of instrumentalists for this performance by assembling an all-star cast of musical epic proportions with Elmer Burchett on banjo, Gil Benson on fiddle, Mike Anglin on bass and Jeremy Toler on drums. Each of these individuals are incredible musicians in their own right and the collaboration of these musical forces on one stage for the Overtones LIVE "Working in Concert" Radio Show backing The Goodwin Brothers truly ignited the essence of spirit and musical growth at the Tipsy Cow that is what most musicians can only dream of experiencing.
2022 is proving to be a great year for the band as The Goodwin Brothers have also been nominated for the highly esteemed The Josie Music Awards in THREE categories including Bluegrass Band of the Year, Fans Choice and Entertainer of the Year. The Josie Music Awards is the largest, most respected, revered award, and prestigious events and association in the independent music industry.
The awards ceremony will be held on October 23, 2022 at The Grand Ole Opry House. In addition to three nominations, the band and their amazing fan base were thrilled to learn that The Goodwin Brothers had also been selected to perform on that beautiful stage as part of the awards ceremony along with seven other acts, including William Lee Golden of The Oak Ridge Boys, The Malpass Brothers, Lacy J Dalton, amongst others.
This new release, coming out on CD, DVD and Vinyl, is an enjoyable musical amusement park ride that takes one down a fun trip that includes some of The Goodwin Brothers fan favorites as well as some new songs that will be included in their next studio project. Here is a musical sampler of the songs that were performed on the show and a preview of what is to come in the release of Overtones LIVE Presents The Goodwin Brothers "Working In Concert".
Let's take an in-depth look at all of the "players" along with their observations on the project itself, as well as all of the ingredients that made this particular performance to be one for the musical record books.
JONATHAN GOODWIN
It started at the age of four when he began playing piano and within a decade he was an accomplished musician mastering multiple instruments. Jonathan Goodwin has spent the last two decades working full-time in the music business as a label owner, head of an artist management company, and as an award-winning producer including a Grammy Award nomination & multiple DOVE Award nominations. While most of his work can be heard on the hundreds of Christian recordings he has produced or appeared on, he continues to be a regular “first call” having crossed over into nearly every genre of music and now even film. His productions consist of top-tier musicians in the best studios in the world. Being a vocalist and musician, Jonathan is easily recognized to be one of the most respected song and vocal arrangers in gospel music today. He has served as the keynote speaker for Music-Business conferences across the globe. Jonathan has been a guest musician and/or vocalist sharing the stage with award-winning artists in almost every genre of music.
WILL GOODWIN
After serving in the Kentucky National Guard right out of high school, Will Goodwin then attended Morehead State University where he became a vocal major and was an often a featured soloist with the MSU Black-Gospel Ensemble He graduated in 2013 with a degree in Political Science and then began traveling as the lead singer of the, then popular, Christian music band (ASSEMBLED). Their projects were produced by his older brother, Jonathan, and within that ensemble, they collected much praise and multiple awards within the gospel music community. William is the featured lead singer on 80% of the bands songs and the shoe certainly fits. He also plays mandolin for the band.
CHASE BUSH
American Idol's Randy Jackson said of Bush, “You remind me of a young Wayne Newton.”
To round off the three-part harmony, that seems to be a staple for the brothers, is Chase Bush. Not a biological brother to Will and Jonathan - you would never know it listening to their phrasing and harmonies. However you might feel safe to assume that although Chase isn’t a blood brother, the three have undoubtedly been singing together for many years. Jonathan says the ‘Goodwin’ boys first met Bush at a church gathering as young teenagers in the small town of Winchester, KY. While he may be new to the bluegrass scene, Bush has certainly had his fair-share of time spent on stage. In 2006, he left his hometown of Richmond, KY. and landed on stage in Hollywood as a top contestant on American Idol. Even then he was being prepped for ‘group singing’ as he was paired with Idol’s eventual Season 5 winner, Taylor Hicks.
MIKE ANGLIN
"It has been my pleasure to work with Overtones LIVE recently on The Goodwin Brothers live video, “Working in Concert”. Renee & Warren Cobb have a vision for live music and they put in countless hours to see their vision through, creating a video that I’m proud to have been part of! This video & recording is the best live project I’ve ever had the honor to be associated with. These folks are 100% professional and I hope I have the privilege to work with them again in the future". - Mike Anglin, Bass
Bluegrass bass guitar player, Mike Anglin was born into a musical family in Berea, KY and as a child he found his love for music. While traveling to bluegrass festivals with his parents. He received his first bass at the age of 8 & by age 15 he was playing professionally. Mike is equally comfortable playing both the upright and electric bass on stage or in the studio. Mike has played in the bands in Continental Divide, The Lonesome River Band and currently plays for Larry Cordle and also in American Idol's Alex Miller's Band. Mike and his wife, Teresa, who travels these musical roads with him, call Berea, KY their home.
GIL BENSON
"The OVERTONES LIVE show recorded at the Tipsy Cow was amazing. The lights, cameras, crowd and energy was so fun. The camera work and audio engineering was outstanding. It was a fun night for sure. The Goodwin Brothers are amazing singers, musicians and entertainers. I was thrilled to be able to join them on their live project. The Goodwin Brothers have a bright future and I wish them success in their endeavors." - Gil Benson, Fiddle
Gil has always had an interest in the violin/fiddle. In his early years, he studied classical violin and earned an orchestra scholarship at UK back when a $750 scholarship covered an entire semester of tuition. Gil currently plays fiddle with the Open Highway Bluegrass Band. He also occasionally fills in with The Goodwin Brothers, The Missy Werner Band, Branded Bluegrass, The Stevens Family Tradition, The Haddix Family and others. Gil had played with Shotgun Holler and recorded the fiddle tracks on their “Loaded” Album. Gil also recorded a couple tracks on a Tony Ellis CD whose one track can be heard on a John Landis short film titled “Deer Woman”. He wrote the banjo tablature and standard notation for “The Banjo Music of Tony Ellis”. He produced an instructional video with Michael Cleveland for his title track “Fiddler’s Dream” complete with standard notation including fingerings, bowings and chords. Gil has enjoyed filling in on fiddle with The Goodwin Brothers. Gil makes his home with his wife Liz in Monroe Ohio. This year marks their 30th wedding anniversary.
JEREMY TOLER
"Getting to be a part of the Overtones LIVE project was thrilling, to say the least. All of the staff, from Renee and Warren, to the video and sound engineers, made us all feel like we were playing on the biggest stage in the world. Honestly, their excitement for the show seemed to exceed ours. Which is really saying something! The feeling we get before we play a show is always electric. Having that energy matched by all those involved really made the night something special. And, the fact that it was all captured on video, is something so special to me. I now get to relive those moments every time I see a clip or excerpt from that night. I hope everyone that watches gets the same goosebumps I do when they see it!" - Jeremy Toler, Drums
Jeremy has a long history with The Goodwin Brothers...Jonathan specifically. Over a decade ago when Jonathan was serving as music director, Jeremy would be Jonathan's "first call" when assembling an all-star band for large worship events. Music has always been a huge part of Jeremy Toler's life. He grew up in church, his parents being pastors all of his life, and both of them being very involved in music. Jeremy was around 5 years old when he was drawn to the drums. He never took any formal lessons. On a special night at age 7, Jeremy was pulled out of Bible class "volun-told" by a musician at their church, to take the stage behind the drums for the evening. After providing every possible excuse to get out of his assignment, he was told to "get up there and just have fun". After that night, Jeremy was hooked for life. At 15, he had more gigs than there were days in the week!
In high school Jeremy fell in love with the punk rock music scene. The high energy, abrasive nature of the music, and the camaraderie among those that went to the shows drew Jeremy in like a moth to a flame. He very quickly started playing in punk bands with friends. Jeremy thinks some of that “attitude” still comes out when he plays today and guess it would appear kind of odd from the outside looking in to make the leap from gospel, to punk, to bluegrass/Americana. To help people understand how Jeremy got to gospel, he usually shares that he was singing Hank Williams songs before he knew who Hank Williams was.
"Those times spent riding around in a truck, singing “I’m so lonesome I could cry” at the top of my lungs with my grandfather and great grandfather are what helped develop such a deep appreciation for folk music."
His parents would continue to foster this musical appreciation for all genres and over the course of time, traditional music became the one constant musical thread in Jeremy's life. Whether one tends to call it country, bluegrass, folk, American… Jeremy claims to have what feels like a genetic, or spiritual, connection to music. Getting to come full circle, and actually play the songs that birthed the love he has for music, has been a dream come true.
ELMER BURCHETT
Elmer Burchett, is a Kentucky bluegrass banjo and mandolin players, and also a singer/songwriter who hails from Georgetown, Kentucky. His father played with Hobert and Dorothy Skaggs, who were Ricky’s Skaggs parents. Elmer started learning banjo at the age of 12. He has backed Alison Krauss at the Grand Ol' Opry in Nashville, having played with many headliner groups such as Pine Mountain Railroad, Dale Ann Bradley, Junior Sisk, Wyatt Rice, David Parmley, Lou Reid, and Ronnie Bowman. He has also played with Don Rigsby and the Midnight Call and Sturgill Simpson. Elmer started playing music at age 10 and has had an illustrious career, performing and recording with many of the top bluegrass bands in the genre like Rambler’s Choice, Darrell Webb, Santa Cruz, Gary Brewer, Mountain Heart, Clyde & Marie Denny, David Parmley, Lou Reid, Ronnie Bowman and the Committee, 5iveSpeed and Summertown Road.
Elmer’s songs have also been covered by various bands and performers, including Steve Gully, the Bartley Brothers, Grasstowne, Terry Baucom, Ralph Stanley II and Melonie Cannon. I always enjoy hearing Elmer play the banjo – he is consistently creative on any material he performs, whether traditional or more “progressive” bluegrass or on his own compositions. Elmer keeps the drive and comes up with very interesting twists and turns that have become part of his own playing style. I don’t cross paths with Elmer on the festival circuit as often as I would like but when I do, I always make sure to catch his shows to hear his playing. I am confident you readers will enjoy reading his story and I encourage all banjo players to find a way to hear his playing either live or on recordings. - Greg Cahill, Banjo Newsletter
Sit back, relax and close your eyes. Imagine the energy, love and power that was in that room and on that beautiful stage on June 30, 2022. You will find yourself clapping, dancing and singing along to some of the brothers most requested songs. To order your copies of DVD, CD and Vinyl, along with other The Goodwin Brothers Merchandise, here is the link:
Renee Collins Cobb and Warren Cobb are the Executive Producers of Overtones LIVE Presents The Goodwin Brothers "Working in Concert" and they are Co-Presidents/Owners of Listen Locally, LLC and Co-Executive Directors of Room 17 Productions, a nonprofit organization that promotes music education, live performance, oral history and preservation. Renee is the former host of Red Barn Radio and is the current hosts of radio shows titled "Overtones" and “Gray Matters” which airs weekly on WLXU, Radiolex, Lexington, KY.
Warren is the former Assistant Producer and Talent Manager for Red Barn Radio and now serves as the Executive Producer for "Overtones LIVE from Austin City". They are also the project managers for The Sara Holroyd Oral History Project, The History of the UK Cheerleaders Project, The Greg Austin Story and I Am Diversity at the University of Kentucky Louie B Nunn Center for Oral History. Renee has also served many years in the organizational effectiveness, diversity/inclusion and human resource development fields. She serves as an executive coach, keynote speaker, organizational consultant, facilitator of change and team development coach.
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