Parmalee to take Crawford County Fair stage Friday
Pictured above is the band Parmalee, composed of (from left) Matt Thomas, Barry Knox, Josh McSwain and Scott Thomas.
By Rachel Mergen
“At the end of the day, we’re in this together,” Matt Thomas, member of the platinum-selling band Parmalee, noted about the benefits of being able to work with his family and friend. His brother Scott, cousin Barry Knox and childhood best friend Josh McSwain make up the rest of the band. The band will be rocking the Crawford County Fair on Friday, Aug. 24, at 7 p.m., with Smoking Gun Showdown as their opening act.
Parmalee has their roots in Parmele, N.C., a town of a little more than 200 people. Matt and Scott’s father was a musician himself, teaching his children about the power and beauty of music. Scott and Matt grew up surrounded by the sounds of Southern rock, country and blues. The brothers have “played together our whole lives,” Matt noted.
According to the band’s website (parmalee.com), “They formed in 2001 as a bunch of small-town boys chasing wild weekend nights, but their talents eventually took them beyond the little cement block barn they rehearsed in and onto Country music’s biggest stages, not to mention the top of Billboard’s Country chart.”
The band has many popular hits that charted on the Billboard Top Country and Country Airplay lists, including “Carolina,” which hit number one, “Close Your Eyes” and “Already Callin’ You Mine.”
It hasn’t always been easy for the band though, with their website telling of one interesting story that could have ruined their chance of success if they didn’t have so much willpower as they did: “The road to success wasn’t all flowers for the band, they have come a long way since their modest beginnings, working odd jobs like logging forests, construction, and any other type of manual labor to make ends meet. They’ve also had a few setbacks—in 2010, two men attempted to rob the band at gunpoint after a show, which led to Scott being hospitalized for 35 days, 10 of which he spent in a coma, for multiple gun shot wounds. Despite a five percent chance of survival, he miraculously pulled through, and the band went on to secure a record deal just four months later.”
Today though, the band has found great success, traveling across the country every month to perform on a variety of stages. These trips have become a favorite part of Matt’s career, as he enjoys being able to travel and work with his band members, having their moments just as any family would, but always reuniting to face the stardom together.
According to Matt, it’s probably not their first time in the Crawford County area, as they’ve traveled every inch of the country during their career. He looks forward to having a good time with the audience.
To purchase tickets for the concert and to learn more about the Crawford County Fair, go to crawfordcountywisconsinfair.com.
To listen to some of Parmalee’s hits, for more information about their tour and to learn more about them, check out parmalee.com.
