Delta Saints to grace Columbus stage

Jacob Hollar
Thu, 06 Feb 2014 04:53:06 +0000
Campus, blackberry smoke, Columbus, delta blues, floorwalkers, funk, newport music hall, promowest productions, rock, the delta saints

The band Delta Saints is slated to perform at Newport Music Hall 7 p.m., Feb. 7.
Credit: Courtesy of Melissa Madison Fuller

Depicting The Delta Saints sound might be a difficult task. A diverse mix of Delta blues, funk and classic rock are all terms used to depict Delta Saints.

The band’s genre is hard to pigeonhole, but The Delta Saints’ singer, Ben Ringel, said the band’s sound is a cominbation of Delta blues, funk and classic rock.

Nashville-born band The Delta Saints are scheduled to make a Columbus appearance at Newport Music Hall Friday.

Casey Bridgeman, a representative of the band, said in an email the group is often described as “bayou rockers.”

Ringel said he doesn’t love that description, but acknowledged it works to describe the group.

The unusual melding of styles is still a work in progress, David Supica, the band’s bassist, said in an email.

“In the past, we were a little more clumsy with cutting and pasting influences,” he said. “A funk verse here with a straight delta blues chorus there.”

The “cutting and pasting” was part of the band’s beginnings in “cliché ‘let’s jam’ sessions” in a one-bedroom apartment in Nashville, back when the members were students at Belmont University, Ringel said.

But the process has continued to get easier as part of the group’s evolution, Supica said — possibly because the band’s members spend so much time together.

Between local gigs, concerts in Europe and now, an international tour with country rock group, Blackberry Smoke, the band is busy.

“We’re on the road between 200 and 250 days a year,” Ringel said. “I have a couple friends outside the band, but we (the band) spend so much time together, we’re such a close knit group.”

Ringel said even in the band members’ limited free time, they might try to go their separate ways but it’s never long before they call one another and say “Hey, wanna go grab a beer?”

And while the friends all love traveling and seeing new things, spending so much time away from home can be tiring, Ringel said.

“The misconception is that rock and roll is an everyday party,” he said. “It’s a job — but it’s a fantastic, phenomenal job.”

That job is set to bring the band to open for Blackberry Smoke’s Fire In The Hole tour at the Newport Music Hall.

It’s not the band’s first time in Columbus, however.

“We actually have really fond feelings of Columbus,” Supica said. “The Floorwalkers are some great buddies of ours and we’ve had a blast with them in that town.

“One of my favorite shows happened at (Ruby Tuesday) when we booked a last minute show with The Floorwalkers and it turned into an all out super jam. I’m excited to get back to town in a bigger venue and have some more good times.”

Doors for Friday’s concert are set to open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $17 in advance and $20 at the door.