Boss Hawg's home pen is the mountain town of Boone N.C. The Hawg formed in 2003 at a party on the ridge of the Blue Ridge Mtns. The band quickly discovered that combining their contemporary rendition of traditional Appalachian Mountain music with fun loving audiences produced a natural high-energy vibe that is reminiscent of the once-a-month barn dances from the turn of the century. But their love of bluegrass and old-time string music is only half the story. Principle songwriter Jon Davis has the ability to sing and write songs that seep of lifetimes of experiences. Jon doesn't so much write songs, as he seems to channel them, sometimes onstage in front of a live audience. A Boss Hawg show will usually comprise of newgrass instrumentals, super-country-funk songwriting, and straight-ahead bluegrass that keeps one foot planted in the cornfield of tradition.
The two original members, Jon Davis on Guitar and Brian Swenk on banjo, have gone through a handful of great pickers in order to find the current, and without a doubt the best, incarnation of Boss Hawg. Kim France plays the stand-up bass and started playing with Jon 5 years ago on Ocracoke Island. It is not uncommon to meet people who drive long distances "just to see that girl play that bass!" Kim's infectious energy and belting vocals have become an integral part of Boss Hawg. In November of 2005, Zeb Bowles walked backstage at a gig and confidently announced, "I'm your new fiddle player, and this is our first gig together." 30 minutes and one fiddle solo later we learned that he was correct on every count. Zeb's vast experience in the rock/jazz/classical world with the violin/fiddle allows the second wing to sprout and suddenly the proverbial pig is flying. Zeb was born and raised in the foreign lands of California and the Hawg is extremely happy that he decided to move to America. The newest member of the band, mandolin player Bobby Miller, coincidently has some of the oldest ties to Boss Hawg since Jon Davis met Bobby on the same day he met Kim 5 years ago on Ocracoke. As Bobby brings his vast knowledge of the mandolin, along with his pure tenor voice, a sense of coming full circle has enabled the band to raise their performances to new heights. Boss Hawg is currently working on their second CD.
