By Sofie Kato, news staff
Virginia native Keller Williams brings his bluegrass and Tom Petty-inspired project Keller Williams’ PettyGrass to Boston this fall. Williams will perform his acoustic dance style music in a fun sing-along.
“We are celebrating the life and music of the american icon, Tom Petty,” Williams said. “This performance is a fun sing-along that stays true to the bluegrass tunes but that also includes harmony and rhythm.”
Williams will be performing alongside a group called The Hillbenders, a bluegrass band Williams met performing in his hometown of Fredericksburg.
“The Hillbenders are really animated when it comes to their performance style,” Williams said. “There’s a lot of energy and lots of walking around, and playing with those guys is a lot of fun because they are not jaded at all.”
Williams is currently on tour and recently released a new album called “SANS.” Every time he performs the set and stage are different: he performs solo, with a band, in a duo. He said his goal is to play music he finds entertaining and to help people relax.
“Music is an audible, visible journey that helps people to get out of their head,” Williams said. “It definitely has a power that not only brings people together, but that distracts people from their problems and the world’s problems.”
PettyGrass is one of the many projects Williams has worked on. He currently has recorded 13 albums and looks to play music for as long as he can.
“I have no backup plan,” Williams said. “I really feel good about the future. [Music] is everything to me, it’s breath, it’s life; I definitely can’t live without it.”
Williams calls himself a music lover first, a musician second and a songwriter third. He says he is an “audience member on stage” and always tries to put himself in place of the audience.
“My entire career is a relentless pursuit of entertaining myself,” Williams said. “I couldn’t do anything I don’t want to do. I can’t expect the audience to be entertained if I’m not entertained. I really have to feel it and enjoy it to play it.”
Williams plays his music to ensure he and his audience have a good time with upbeat dance songs that they can sing along to.
“Even if you don’t know Tom Petty music, you will enjoy the positive, upbeat vibe that is PettyGrass,” Williams said. “Hopefully you can be taken away from thoughts and problems at least for a short amount of time.”
Williams will perform his Tom Petty-inspired project Keller Williams’ PettyGrass at Cabot Theatre Nov. 16. His new album “SANS,” released Oct. 19.
