(Author’s note: If you haven’t seen/read it yet, you might want to check out my interview with TJ Lyle, lead singer for The Georgia Thunderbolts, which was posted on July 6. Click here to be directed to that post… Artist Interview – TJ Lyle – Georgia Thunderbolts.)
August 23, 2024. If you’re a fan of Southern Rock music, that’s a date you are likely looking forward to. That’s the day The Georgia Thunderbolts, the band that has been called the “new torchbearers of Southern Rock,” are set to release their sophomore album, Rise Above It All, on Mascot Records.
Touring in support of that new album, The Georgia Thunderbolts played The Basement at Oskar Blues in Colorado Springs the night before last.
Formed in 2015, the band from Rome, Georgia consists of TJ Lyle (lead vocals, harmonica, and guitar), Riley Couzzourt (guitar and vocals), Zach Everett (bass), Bristol Perry (drums), and Logan Tolbert (guitar and vocals). They independently released their first album in 2019, followed by an EP in 2020. After catching the eye of Mascot Records executives, they released their first major label album, Can We Get A Witness, in October of 2021.
Comparisons to iconic Southern Rock bands of the past abound. Including a cover of “Midnight Rider” on Can We Get A Witness certainly fueled comparisons to the Allman Brothers Band. Then there’s the inevitable links to Lynyrd Skynyrd. But there’s a lot more to this young band than that. There’s an astonishingly broad range of musical styles and artists that the members of the band list as having influenced them… everything from Wilson Pickett and Bobby Womack to Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica, to Hank Williams (both Senior and Junior) and Soundgarden.
This diversity of musical influences was on full display Thursday night at Oskar Blues, as the Thunderbolts ripped through a 19-song, hour and twenty-minute set that covered most of their first album, a broad sampling from their forthcoming second album, plus a few tasty throw-ins, just to make things interesting.
Ten songs from the set came from Can We Get A Witness, while seven came from Rise Above It All. (I was lucky enough to attend the band’s sound check, where I got to hear two additional songs from Rise Above It All. So I have that going for me.) The ease with which the band is able to transition from fierce rockers like “Half Glass Woman”, “Can I Get A Witness”, and “Rise Above It All” to poignant, acoustic ballads like “Crawling My Way Back To You”, “Looking For An Old Friend”, and the cover of Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me”, was truly impressive.
While many of the covers the band does are faithful to the sound and tone of the originals, they move down different paths on others. Their cover of “Midnight Rider” retains the gorgeous harmonies of the original but wraps then in a much heavier package. And when Lyle introduced the band’s cover of Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” no one could have foreseen the thundering rock treatment the band served up.
In contrast, their versions of Frankie Miller’s “Be Good To Yourself” and Bob Seger’s “Ain’t Got No Money” (which was also written by Frankie Miller”) are spot on. Both are rollicking rock ‘n roll tunes that are guaranteed to at least get your toe tapping, and more likely your booty on the dance floor.
The band’s on-stage personas are as varied as the music they’re playing. The most animated member of the band, by a WIDE margin, is lead guitarist Couzzourt. He’s all over the stage, head thrown back, hair flying, rock star poses abounding. Drummer Perry is relatively animated himself, but because he’s held captive behind his kit, it might not be as apparent. Frontman Lyle is much more laid back, consistent with what he talked about in the interview I did with him a month ago. He puts a serious amount of emotion into his vocals, but he’s not the kind who’s going to be prancing and bounding about.
On the far other side of the spectrum are guitarist Tolbert and bass player Everett. Tolbert, who is positioned on the opposite side of Lyle as Couzzourt, moves forward when he’s providing backing vocals, but gravitates toward the back otherwise. Oh, I caught him in a few rock star poses of his own, but a lot of the time he’s grooving in his own space, head thrown back and eyes closed, feeling the music he’s playing. Everett was positioned behind Tolbert, and seemed completely content to stay there, doing what a great bass player does… laying down the backbone that keeps everyone else on task, drawing pretty much no attention to himself.
Musically, this band killed it. Each member of the band is exceptionally skilled, and they work together about as seamlessly as any band I’ve ever seen. I guess that’s to be expected, given that they’ve been playing together, with no changes in the lineup, for more than nine years now.
In another life, Couzzourt could easily be shredding with the best of them in your favorite heavy metal band. He looks the part (and I mean that as a compliment), and he absolutely rips it when the song calls for it. Be he’ll also lay down some immensely sweet slide and provides quality backing vocals.
Lyle’s vocals were superb, and his work on both acoustic guitar and harmonica were terrific. It seems a little weird to say, given that the Thunderbolts are a rock band, and this was a rock show, but one of the highlights of the evening was Lyle’s solo acoustic treatment of “Stand By Me.” On the other hand, my personal highlight of the evening was “Can I Get A Witness,” which is definitely the heaviest song the band has recorded. It. Just. Rocked.
All told, an excellent set, from a superbly talented young band on the rise. The Georgia Thunderbolts are wrapping up their current US tour with dates in Sturgis, SD (today) and Beaver Dam, KY, before heading to Europe for shows in Germany, Denmark, The Netherlands, and France. Then it’s back home for dates in the US through at least the end of October. There’s still room on the bandwagon, but it’s picking up steam, so you might want to consider jumping on while you can. Did I mention there’s a new album dropping on August 23?
Before I close out, I want to give a HUGE shoutout and express my gratitude to the boys in the band for the gracious amount of time they gave me in advance of the Colorado Springs show. Thank you very much, gentlemen… you were awesome.
Story and photos by Rick Witt www.rickwittphotography.com
