Hard Work & Brotherhood
Photos by Laci Mack
Sometimes a new song comes to you the way it should, as in randomly, and without fanfare or prior description, and the quality of it takes you for a ride. That is what happened to me one day while driving through the mountains of Western North Carolina.
In the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, and in upstate South Carolina, WNCW-FM’s Saturday bluegrass show can be heard in multiple places on the radio dial. At the base of Grandfather Mountain, where I reside, WCNW’s signal fades at its 88.7 home, but then can quickly be picked up a little further down the tuner at 92.9. While traveling, the song “Fall In Tennessee” had already started so I did not know who it was by or even the name of it, yet the beauty and feel of the tune grabbed me.
Eventually, after a couple of other songs that followed, the DJ came on the air to run down the titles from the set and that was when I realized that this fine cut was recorded by the band Authentic Unlimited with special guest Jerry Douglas, who was brought in to add his wonderfully intertwined resonator guitar solo to the song. Since then, both the song and the group have experienced a positive response from the bluegrass world that few new bands have achieved, especially by a band that does not have a famous gunslinger in their midst. That is not a knock on Authentic Unlimited by any means, as their appeal is the sound they have achieved collectively.
Over the last two years or so, the name Authentic Unlimited has slowly but steadily appeared more and more in the bluegrass world. Beginning with their first two albums, which were released on the same day in May of 2022 on Billy Blue Records, and their rise on bluegrass radio and on the live scene since then, the band has risen up through hard work, a sense of a united direction among its members, and the quality of music that has flowed out of each participant due to their respective innate talents.
Authentic Unlimited features Eli Johnston on banjo and vocals, Jerry Cole on bass and vocals, Stephen Burwell on fiddle, Jesse Brock on mandolin and vocals and John Meador on guitar and vocals.
The story of how Authentic Unlimited came together begins with Johnston, Cole and Burwell and their individual winding paths through the professional bluegrass genre. Those journeys led to all three of them landing at the doorstep of IBMA Hall of Famer Doyle Lawson together. History will now show that the trio were a part of the legendary Lawson’s last full-time band that he employed before retirement.
Just being chosen to play with such a renowned musician as Lawson was an achievement by itself for Johnston, Cole and Burwell, and yet their story turned abruptly. Lawson’s retirement came sooner than was expected, and the trio soon realized that they would yet again be staring into the abyss that is bluegrass music’s silly season, when bands break up and new ones are formed and everything is turned on its head. They could have gone their own way and latched onto various other bands, but instead, they stuck together. And so, this is the story of the formation of Authentic Unlimited and the group’s impressive and quick rise in the business.
Doyle Lawson Hangs up his Spurs
Eli Johnston – “Doyle gave us plenty of notice, giving us a year, and he let us know he was going to leave the road and we all saw it coming,” said Johnston. “After that last show we played together, we got back to the office and Doyle knew that we were going to go and form this new band and, I believe, he knew that he was giving us a shot when he decided to quit the road. He told us, ‘You all are going to be fine. Don’t worry. Just work hard and you’ll be fine.’ And, that is what we have tried to do. We keep plugging away and we keep showing up and doing what we know how to do, and that is picking, singing, and making really cool bluegrass music, because that is what we love to do. But, honestly, we were all worried to death about starting this new band, at least I was, as I can’t speak for everybody else. What is really tough when you start something new is to get the touring and bookings all in line with a new band name. The truth is, we all decided to trust each other and trust the process, and then it eventually started working out for us.”
Stephen Burwell – “Doyle called us to the side one day after letting us know earlier that he was going to retire in a couple of years,” said Burwell. “It was a few months later at this point, and he came back and said to us, ‘I think I’m just going to go ahead and call it quits at the end of this year.’ It was shocking to all of us, because the end was now just two or three months away. But, I can understand it from Doyle’s point of view, and it was just what he had to deal with going forward. He was to the point and matter of fact about it when he told us, as in. ‘Here is the deal, boys.’ Fortunately, already knowing that he would retire sometime in the future, we were gathering material and trying to come up with band name so when he did come off the road, we would be ready to go. But, we were in the early stages of everything and had not yet formed the business that would become the new band. And, we didn’t have the other two members of the new group lined up yet. So, when he told us he was retiring right away, we knew we had to get our backsides in gear quickly. As for our band name, Doyle actually came up with it. We had come up with some good band names, but everything we did a search on came up taken in some sort of way. We told him that and Doyle said, ‘Well, boys, you want to be authentic with your music, and you don’t want to copy me or anyone else. and you want your own voice, so what about ‘Authentic Unlimited?’”
Jerry Cole – “When Doyle told us in July or so of that year that he was going to retire, we thought we had a year or so to prepare,” said Cole. “But then, in November of that year, he told us that he had changed his mind and would retire at the end of that season. Luckily, I had already spent time with Stephen and Eli in Doyle’s band and I had travelled with them on the road. When you travel with somebody, you really get to know them. That is important as there is more to picking and singing to consider when you are in a band with somebody. Stephen, Eli and I had already spent that time together, so it made sense to keep it going. Then, of course, we had to bring in a couple more people to play and sing with us and I asked Jesse Brock if he wanted the job. But, Jesse was playing with another band at the time and he told us that he had to think about it and pray about it, But, he eventually got back with us and decided that he wanted to come onboard. John Meador was playing with another band as well, at that time, and I hate to take something from somebody else, but John was ready to make a move. Us three knew exactly what kind of singers and players we were after, and Jesse and John were the guys that could make that happen.”
Johnston, Burwell and Cole learned a lot while experiencing life as Doyle Lawson’s last-ever full-time touring band.
Eli Johnston – “When I first gave Doyle a demo CD of my playing and singing, I went down to audition with him, but I couldn’t sing high enough at the time,” said Johnston. “But, time passed and I learned a lot between my first audition and my second audition, and I got lucky, I guess, as I was then at the right place at the right time. The second time around, Doyle wasn’t in need of a singer that could sing really high then, because they already had Dustin Pyrtle in the group. I wish I could sing those high tenor parts, but I just couldn’t do it. But I can sing the second vocals and it worked, and I joined the band. Doyle is the biggest name in bluegrass that I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with. Through Doyle, we got to meet a lot of cool people and play a lot of really cool music. I learned a lot from Doyle Lawson as he is one of the best teachers that you could ever want to be around. He is just a giant, a real lion in the industry.”
Stephen Burwell – “My time with Doyle was really good,” said Burwell. “I’ve actually had a lot of people ask me about him being a taskmaster and wanting things to be right musically. The thing with Doyle was that if you worked hard on learning his music and did it at home and not just on the road, he could tell that you had put in the practice time and he appreciated it. I joined his band to play his music, not to play my music. So, going into his band with an open mind was important. I always tried to work on my music, anyway. because I am not a singer. So, the way I think about it, if I want to keep a job, I know I need to practice hard on the fiddle. So, that is why I enjoyed playing with Doyle. The truly surreal moment for me was when I learned I got the gig with him. I called my parents first, and then told all of my family, because I was ecstatic about it. I never thought I’d get an opportunity like that, to join a Hall of Famer’s band.”
Jerry Cole – “I learned from my time with Doyle that it is always good to be good to people,” said Cole. “Doyle was as good a guy off the stage as he was on the stage. That is the biggest thing that I will take from my time with him, as in the kind of man he was on and off the stage. He was and is the ‘Real McCoy.’ He was truly a good guy. Musically, he wanted to get the best out of everybody. If he thought that you weren’t giving it your all, then he would let you know it. He knew you could do better, and he really did strive for perfection.”
The New Guys
As Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver’s run came to an end, the trio began talk about who they should bring into the new band and why, and that is when Jesse Brock and John Meador quickly realized that they were being courted as the messages and phone calls began to arrive.
Jesse Brock – “Eli, Stephen and Jerry wanted to come out of the gate running and they said that I was the first name on their list, so they gave me a phone call,” said Brock. “They made me an offer and let me think about it for about two or three weeks. So, I had a heart-to-heart talk about it with my wife and we thought it might be a pretty good opportunity to consider for my future. They said that they needed a mandolin player that could sing, and that could also possibly be a business partner in all of this, and that was a game-changer. Within a year, we all agreed that my joining the band was the right move and I became a co-owner of this business. I have a really amazing and supportive wife, and that really helps a lot. And, in a way, it felt like receiving the baton from Doyle Lawson as his last band ever was moving forward and I was a part of it. Starting a new group is not hard if you are willing to work hard, and everybody in Authentic Unlimited is all on the same page and all of us are working towards the same goals.”
John Meador – “Earlier, I played some shows with Eli and Stephen in East Tennessee and in Western North Carolina and corporate gigs in Gatlinburg and things like that, and that is when we became really good friends,” said Meador. “At first, they told me they were starting a new band because Doyle was retiring and I said I couldn’t do it as I was in another group. But, I ended up leaving that band and I joined Authentic Unlimited and we got the business started and it has been a dream come true ever since. These guys are like family to me, closer than family, really, and every single day I am thankful for this job. All of the guys are family kind of guys and they treat me so well. Since then, all of a sudden our songs, such as ‘Fall In Tennessee,’ have just blown up and honestly, we thought it would take longer for our new band to get started. But, as soon as we played our first shows together, the phone has been ringing and we felt blessed. As for our albums, it is easy for us because all of us are songwriters and we will each bring our catalog to the table. Right before we record an album, we’ll have rehearsals and we will come together with all of the material that we want to do and each of us will pitch our songs to the rest of the band just like we would pitch them to somebody else.”
The Results of Hard Work
Last year, in 2023, Authentic Unlimited impressively won the IBMA Award for both New Artist Of The Year and Vocal group of the Year.
When the 2024 IBMA Award nominations were announced, Authentic Unlimited was one of the performers at the event. As they played and then stood nearby as the nominations were read, they were stunned to hear their band’s name called out time after time. Two nominations turned into four nominations, then five nominations turned into an amazing nine nominations, and the band was surprised and astounded by the news, given to them in real time in front of an audience around the world on Sirius/XM radio.
The next day, the Billboard Magazine article on the news read “Authentic Unlimited, Molly Tuttle, Billy Strings and Sister Sadie Lead IBMA Award Nominees.” The band garnered award nods for Vocal Group of the Year, Album of the Year for their So Much For Forever recording, Song of the Year for “Fall In Tennessee,” Music Video of the Year, Jesse Brock for Mandolin Player of the Year, Gospel Recording of the Year for two of their songs with “Memories Of Home” and “Thank You Lord For Your Grace,” Collaborative Recording of the Year with “Fall In Tennessee” featuring Jerry Douglas, and John Meador was also nominated for Gospel Recording of the Year for the song “Just Beyond” recorded by Barry Abernathy along with Meador, Tim Raybon and Bradley Walker.
This article now fast forwards to the IBMA Awards show that happened on September 26, 2024, in Raleigh, NC. The above interviews with Authentic Unlimited happened in the week and a half prior to the awards show. Therefore, now we can fully complete this story by passing on the information that Authentic Unlimited made the best of their IBMA nominations this year by taking home the awards for Vocal Group of the Year, Song of the Year, and Music Video of the Year. Jesse Brock also won Mandolin Player of the Year.
