New Nashville Duo BEXAR Keep It Real in ‘The Underdog’ Residency
As far as a band's spiritual home goes, one could do worse than a East Nashville dive bar.
With their mix of kinetic country energy and rootsy instrumentation, Nashville duo BEXAR are just starting to make themselves known. But if tracks “Again,” “One Day” and “Be Good to Her” are any indication, they might not be underdogs for long … professionally speaking, anyway. In their hearts, this musical brotherhood will always feel like the scrappy underdog.
That’s because even as Chris Ryan and Logan Turner make some big career strides, they’ve also posted up for a monthly residency in a tiny East Nashville dive bar called The Underdog, and it’s become something of a spiritual home (plus Music City at it’s best).
Always playing to a full house of local fans and friends, the band have come to love those steamy hole-in-the-wall nights, where they crack open cold ones alongside tracks from their debut EP Pronounced Bear. With Ryan on vocals and Turner on banjo, guitar and more, they often create a vibe that mixes old-school fundamentals with new-school electricity, and their Underdog success may be just the beginning.
BEXAR just finished up a run opening shows for breakout talent Niko Moon, and back in late February, they rocked over 70,000 fans at the NHL Stadium Series game at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium. Looking ahead, they’ll spend the summer hitting festivals all over and “getting weird” with their BEXAR Den podcast, taking the band’s journey to the next level. But between all that, they’ll continue keeping it real at The Underdog, and Sound Like Nashville caught up with the duo before their March 30 appearance. [Editor’s note: This show has been moved to April 7 due to tornado warnings on the original date.]
Dive bars and country music go together like butter and biscuits. What has it been like to perform at The Underdog each month?
It’s been special. We’ve seen different crowds each time and they’ve all been rowdy in their own ways. Fans from across the country have come into town for these shows, and we have been blown away by the support so far.
Credit: Alexis Justice
Do you have any memorable dive bar experiences as a band before now?
The Pour House in Bozeman, Montana was an absolute riot. We were set to play Headwaters Country Jam in Montana last year and it got rained out. Before we had a chance to get upset about it, a random fan and friend of a bar called The Pour House in Bozeman, Montana, approached us and asked us to play a last-minute show that night at the bar. It was insane. The people were electric, jumping on and off the stage, crawling around by our feet as we played. We are legends in Bozeman now. And truly feel like we made some best friends that night.
How and why did you set up The Underdog residency? Do you feel like underdogs yourselves?
A good friend of ours owns the bar so it was a natural conversation. I would say we definitely do feel like underdogs, but we embrace it and let it fuel us. Any time you run with something outside the box, there will be an uphill climb, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.
In recent weeks, you’ve played for a packed stadium, opened for Niko Moon and sung in a tiny East Side bar. What memories will you take away from this time?
That people love music, no matter the size or location of the venue. With each stop, we are learning more about ourselves and how we want to grow as a band. Being out with Niko has been great, he’s a friend of ours and it’s been exciting to see him take off. We appreciate him giving us a shot to play for his audience these past couple shows with more on the books. We definitely bring something different to the genre that his fans appreciate, and they have been really accepting to discovering new music. And the venues have been cool — Windjammer Isle of Palms, South Carolina, was a highlight for us.
Is it inspiring any new songs or ways of thinking?
Over the last few shows, we’ve learned a lot about our live set. Being able to see what fans are reacting to and testing out new styles is definitely influencing the new music we’re writing. We are continuing to evolve our sound and love being able to experiment while on the road.
BEXAR has a cool mix of kinetic energy and rootsy instruments. Does it play better in a place like The Underdog or Nissan Stadium?
We wrote this music to connect with people — whether that be at a stadium or in a dive bar — but it did sound damn good at Nissan. Going on a stadium tour would definitely be one to add to the bucket list.
What’s the coolest thing you get to do with your podcast and non-music making stuff?
Meet and talk to a lot of people that we wouldn’t have gotten to otherwise. Next podcast episode is coming soon. Let’s just say it involves a limousine, Broadway and explores some of the darker secrets of the world of professional wrestling…
What will you take away from The Underdog residency as you move forward?
Getting to start with something small and watch it grow. We value playing in an intimate venue and really getting to know our fans. It’s been awesome to see our fan base grow from word of mouth of these shows. Someone will bring a friend that has never heard of our music, and they tell a friend, and that’s the connectivity and power of music. With the intimate space, we can focus on building strong connections with each individual. We hope that everyone leaves the show with a better understanding of who we are as a band.
