‘Tommy’ like you’ve never heard it before: Bluegrass style, from the HillBenders at the Sanctuary

The HillBenders bend the rules at The Sanctuary, giving a bluegrass spin to 'Tommy.' From left: Gary Rea, Mark Cassidy. Chad Graves and Jim Rea. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
The HillBenders bend the rules at The Sanctuary, giving a bluegrass spin to 'Tommy.' From left: Gary Rea, Mark Cassidy. Chad Graves and Jim Rea. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
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Video: The HillBenders perform ‘Pinball Wizard’ in Morris County

By Kevin Coughlin

What happens when you cross a classic rock opera with five foot-stomping bluegrass wizards?

You get Tommy, A Bluegrass Opry.

The Hillbenders’  show on Saturday was one of the most exciting and enjoyable concerts we’ve ever seen at the Sanctuary series in Chatham.

Video: The HillBenders play the ‘Tommy’ overture at the Sanctuary

It almost was like experiencing Tommy for the first time, which is no small feat considering all its re-incarnations on stage and screen since The Who released the epic album in 1969.

The Springfield, Mo., band has been performing the opera for about a year. Among the first people to hear the group’s sizzling recording was Pete Townshend, who composed most of the original piece.

“It was really, really cool,” said the HillBenders’ lead singer and mandolin player, Nolan Lawrence.  “He responded to us within a couple hours of receiving it. He was hugely supportive. We’re going to try to approach him and see if we can work with him.”

The HillBenders with The Who's Pete Townshend, center, in Nashville, 2015. Photo courtesy of HillBenders.com
The HillBenders with The Who’s Pete Townshend, center, in Nashville, 2015. Photo courtesy of HillBenders.com

Townshend invited the HillBenders to a Who concert, in Nashville, and they met briefly afterward.

One of Townshend’s first questions, according to bass player Gary Rea, was who’s singing Acid Queen, the part made famous by Tina Turner in the 1975 movie.

He laughed when Nolan raised his hand.

“With a beard like that?” Townshend joked.

HillBenders lead singer Nolan Lawrence with Morristown fan Betsy Harvin. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
HillBenders lead singer Nolan Lawrence with Morristown fan Betsy Harvin. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

The opry landed at the Sanctuary thanks to Morristown resident Betsy Harvin, who saw the HillBenders at a bluegrass festival in Raleigh, N.C.

She was impressed mightily by the opera-trained Lawrence and his pals Rea, guitarist Jim Rea (Gary’s cousin), banjo player Mark Cassidy and dobro virtuoso Chad “Gravyboat” Graves.

Together for eight years, the band has started getting attention from Rolling Stone, Billboard and the Huffington Post. The HillBenders’ manager pitched the Tommy project to the musicians, all 30-somethings born after The Who’s album hit the charts.

They’ve performed it all over the country. Gary Rea said Who fans receive it better than bluegrass audiences who are less familiar with the original work. Tommy is about the messianic rise of a pinball-playing boy who is deaf, dumb and blind.

“I always thought it was a little weird,” confessed the bassist, who hopes the HillBenders get a crack at Quadrophenia with Townshend.

The HillBenders at the Sanctuary. From left: Jim Rea, Mark Cassidy, Gary Rea, Chad Graves, Nolan Lawrence. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
The HillBenders at the Sanctuary. From left: Jim Rea, Mark Cassidy, Gary Rea, Chad Graves, Nolan Lawrence. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
The HillBenders bend the rules at The Sanctuary, giving a bluegrass spin to 'Tommy.' From left: Gary Rea, Mark Cassidy. Chad Graves and Jim Rea. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
The HillBenders bend the rules at The Sanctuary, giving a bluegrass spin to ‘Tommy.’ From left: Gary Rea, Mark Cassidy. Chad Graves and Jim Rea. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Video: The HillBenders encore, ‘I Can See for Miles’

Video bonus: The HillBenders play ‘Don’t Look at Me’

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