Événement

Delilah DeWaylde

A long time ago, at the dawn of the Atomic Age, a succession of no-good punks and ill-mannered teenagers took the best of American roots music hard-partying honky tonk country, searing gutbucket blues and lonesome hillbilly twang and distilled it into a potent moonshine known as rockabilly. This combustible formula, passed down through the generations, forms the heart of the revved-up stylings of Delilah DeWylde.

Mixing their own self-penned songs with vintage country/honky tonk hits, rockabilly favorites, and surf gems by such artists as Hank Williams Sr., Johnny Cash, Wanda Jackson, Buck Owens, Gene Vincent, and Dick Dale, Delilah comes out on stage looking and sounding like a step back in time. Dressed to the nines in the tradition of pre-color television, the band thrills audiences across the Midwest with its spirited performances.

Delilah DeWylde got her start in 2005. Just like rockabilly originators Johnny Cash, Bill Haley and Carl Perkins, this Michigander cut her teeth on steel-guitar driven country in the style popularized by Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb and Webb Pierce. But the draw of the big beat was irresistible, and over time the bands approach has become sharper and tighter. Not self-consciously retro, Delilah remains committed to hand-crafted American music that stands at the crossroads of creativity and craftsmanship, liberally drawing from honky tonk country, rockabilly and surf music.

Bandleader Delilah DeWylde (upright bass/lead vocals) is veteran of the West Michigan music scene and an alumna of rockabilly institution DangerVille. Her outsized stage presence is the centerpiece of the show one minute singing sweetly, the next standing on her bass and slapping it into submission.

Next to the sound and fury of Miss Delilah stands cool character Lee Harvey on electric guitar. His serious demeanor onstage reveals his reverence for the precision and technique of the original guitar godsthe likes of Paul Burlison, Billy Byrd, Cliff Gallup, Grady Martin, Dick Dale, Luther Perkins, Scotty Moore and Don Rich.

Taking their task seriously, this trio plies its trade the old-fashioned way live and in person, logging more than 75 gigs a year throughout the Midwest and beyond. The band also has recorded three LPs (as they used to call em): 2008s Honky Tonk Heart, 2010s The Price You Pay and Win My Love recorded in 2012.