Growing up in Nelson County, Kai and Bram Crowe-Getty picked up instruments at a young age. Since then, they’ve each played on a variety of stages and in a handful of different bands—but they both agree that their current band, Lord Nelson, is different than the rest. And with this week’s release of the band’s debut album, The County, it’s difficult to argue with that.
The Crowe-Getty brothers formed Lord Nelson in 2012, with trombonist Henry Jones, bass player Trevor Pietsch and lead guitarist Robert Word joining the ranks along the way. “Henry brought this funky horn element that we’d been missing and breathed life into the music,” says Bram. The resulting sound is an amalgamation of Southern rock and Bayou funk, with a touch of bluegrass twang and jam band riffing.
“Getting a little weird or improvising is really at the core of what we do,” Bram says. Each song’s foot-stomping rhythms are catchy as hell, without being derivative or simplistic. It’s party music in the best sense of the phrase, conjuring the very jam sessions that helped Kai and Bram develop as young musicians.
“We came out of the Nelson County music scene, and it was really supportive and inclusive,” Bram says. “At a young age, when we had no right to be there, we got to play with musicians who were way better than us.” Through this support from fellow Nelson County musicians as well as other local venue managers and bookers, the brothers honed their chops and gained vital experience in the music business. “You go from playing barns out in Covesville and orchard parties to not knowing what’s professionally expected of you,” says Kai. With communal tutelage, however, Kai and Bram learned, and Lord Nelson grew as a band. Playing open mic nights progressed to gigs as the opening act, which, in turn, led to headlining shows.
With the milestone release of The County, the brothers pay tribute to the Nelson County community. The guys started working on the album in December. “We’ve been doing it in pieces, as the band can afford to do it,” Kai says. “It’s frustrating sometimes that you’re not on a label, but it’s been good motivation. You’ve just got to do it yourself.” And that’s what they’ve done.
The band has invested almost every cent of performance pay in the past year to record and master the final tracks. They also recently concluded a successful crowd- funding campaign to help cover the cost of packaging. In keeping with their DIY approach, the campaign’s perks ranged from the expected digital downloads and in-house performances to a handmade cutting board by Rob.
Henry takes care of most of the group’s graphic design work, including Lord Nelson’s website and the packaging for the new album, while Kai handles the booking and business side of things. As a video editor and producer by day, Kai also helps coordinate the band’s multimedia content, including a music video for the single off the new album. “It definitely keeps the overhead down and allows us to maximize our talents and put out good-quality stuff,” he says.
This week, Lord Nelson celebrates its album release with a Saturday night concert at the Southern, hot on the heels of another memorable gig at the 2015 Lockn’ Music Festival. After winning the Charlottesville Rockn’ to Lockn’ event in July, Lord Nelson was given the chance to take the stage at the annual music festival in their very own Nelson County. Joining a lineup of their musical heroes, the band members were understandably thrilled. “I think the exciting part is that you’re at this musical event where there are all these idols that we grew up on,” says Bram. “We’ll just try to play it cool and hope that they offer us a beer.”
When the festival’s Thursday rainout led the band to set up an impromptu show at Rapture with nationally touring group Deer Tick, Lord Nelson’s set at Lockn’ on Saturday morning confirmed their ability to rally fans. “Playing Lockn’ was a surreal experience,” says Kai. “Getting to watch some of the greats alongside other musicians really underlined the sense of community and shared respect throughout the festival. Listening to such talent inspired me to go home and play guitar and put the work in so that we can continue to improve.”
After this week’s album release, Kai and the rest of the band will hit the road to take The County on tour. And as they continue to grow, the members of Lord Nelson retain a deep investment in their community and strive to support young musicians in ways similar to those who helped them along the way. “It’s really important for us to try to pass that on and to share the stage that we have,” Bram says. “What I hope to bring to the local music scene is more of the inclusive and community-minded approach to music. That’s how Kai and I grew up playing music.”
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