Moreland & Arbuckle (

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

Aaron Moreland,

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

blues harp The Richter-tuned harmonica, or 10-hole harmonica (in Asia) or blues harp (in America), is the most widely known type of harmonica. It is a variety of diatonic harmonica, with ten holes which offer the player 19 notes (10 holes times a draw and ...

Dustin Arbuckle, and

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

Kendall Newby) was an American

electric blues Electric blues refers to any type of blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplifier, amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the ...

roots rock Roots rock is a genre of rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid subgenres from the later 1960s, including blues rock, country rock, Southern rock, ...

trio. Moreland described their music as "gritty blues and roots rock from the heartland."Moreland & Arbuckle Biography
''Morelandandarbuckle.com''. Retrieved 17 February 2016 After six previous releases, the band signed with

Alligator Records Alligator Records is an American, Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the ''Living Blues'' magazine in Chicago in 1970. History Iglauer started the label using hi ...

in 2015. The label debut, ''Promised Land Or Bust'', was released on May 6, 2016 and was produced by

Matt Bayles Matt Bayles (born October 19, 1972) is an American record producer, mixer, engineer, and musician, based in Seattle, Washington. Bayles (pronounced 'Bay-Less') is known for his work with bands such as The Classic Crime, Isis, Soundgarden, Pearl ...

. In April 2017, the band announced their break-up.

Biography

Aaron Moreland was born December 16, 1974. He played in a number of garage bands while growing up and was influenced by punk, blues, and rock music. He changed course and focused on blues music after hearing "Death Letter Blues" by

Son House Edward James "Son" House Jr. (March 21, 1902His date of birth is a matter of some debate. House alleged that he was middle-aged during World War I and that he was 79 in 1965, which would make his date of birth around 1886. However, all legal re ...

. Dustin Arbuckle was born December 25, 1981. He first discovered blues in his mid-teens. "Getting into blues made me want to play music," he says. He played in blues-rock bands while learning to sing with soulful authority. The two met at an open mic session in their hometown of

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

in 2001 and they quickly bonded and formed an acoustic duo playing traditional and

delta blues Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...

. The all acoustic duo saw their start after reaching the finals at the 2005 International Blues Competition in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, and followed that success with their first self-produced album, ''Caney Valley Blues'' in 2005. In 2006 the duo added a drummer and evolved into an electric powerhouse trio. Later that year they released a self-produced independent album, ''Floyd's Market''. The trio forged a path combining rural blues, Delta, Mississippi

Hill Country The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Americ ...

, and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

styles. They followed in 2008 with ''1861'' (

Northern Blues Music NorthernBlues Music is a Canadian independent record label, which specializes in blues music. The label was established in 2001, and a number of its artists and albums have since been nominated for and won Blues Music Awards. President Fred Litwi ...

). The trio's sound continued to evolve on this recording with Moreland adding a handmade electric

cigar box guitar The cigar box guitar is a simple chordophone that uses an empty cigar box as a resonator. The earliest had one or two strings; modern models typically have three or more. Generally, the strings are connected to the end of a broomstick or a 1×2 i ...

to his arsenal. ''

Blurt Blurt is an English post-punk band, founded in 1979 in Stroud, Gloucestershire. Background Blurt was founded in 1979 in Stroud, Gloucestershire by poet, saxophonist and puppeteer Ted Milton along with Milton's brother Jake, formerly of p ...

'' Magazine noted that "Moreland & Arbuckle put the edge back in blues-rock with their big league debut album, ''1861''". Moreland was further named one of the "10 Blues Legends in the Making" along with Otis Taylor and Davy Knowles. The band traveled to Iraq for nearly two weeks in the fall of 2008 to play for the American troops stationed there. Moreland & Arbuckle released ''Flood'' in 2010 (

Telarc Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the label has had a long associ ...

). ''No Depression'' says, "These guys have kegs full of talent. Their songs will keep you driving fast and long." After the release of ''Flood,'' Moreland & Arbuckle hit the road supporting acts such as

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sound ...

George Thorogood George Lawrence Thorogood (born February 24, 1950) is an American musician, singer and songwriter from Wilmington, Delaware. His "high-energy boogie-blues" sound became a staple of 1980s rock radio, with hits like his original songs "Bad to the ...

Jonny Lang Jon Gordon Langseth Jr. (born January 29, 1981), known as Jonny Lang, is an American blues, gospel, and rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has made five albums that have charted on the top 50 of the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and has wo ...

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray V ...

Robert Cray Robert William Cray (born August 1, 1953) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards. Early life Robert Cray was born on August 1, 1953, in Columbus, Georgia, while his father was stationed at ...

Los Lonely Boys Los Lonely Boys are an American musical group from San Angelo, Texas. They play a style of music they call "Texican Rock n' Roll," combining elements of rock and roll, Texas blues, brown-eyed soul, country, and Tejano. The band consists of thr ...

and other blues and rock veterans. In August 2011, they released ''Just A Dream'' featuring a guest appearance by

Steve Cropper Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as Ot ...

. Upon its release, ''

The New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' named it Album of the Week, proclaiming it is "the band’s best record to date... there’s a raw, dirt-under-the fingernails garage-band attack in almost every song that flips between Stax-style soul, stinging Chicago Blues and Allman-style Jams." The band logged thousands of road miles playing high energy shows for larger and larger crowds in the United States, Canada, and Europe. European fans embraced the band's gritty American rock blues with enthusiasm. In 2013, they released ''7 Cities'' (Telarc). It tells the story of Spanish explorer

Coronado Coronado may refer to: People * Coronado (surname) * Francisco Vázquez de Coronado (1510–1554), Spanish explorer often referred to simply as "Coronado" * Coronado Chávez (1807–1881), President of Honduras from 1845 to 1847 Places United ...

and his fabled search for the seven cities of gold in the Kansas plains, not far from where the band lived. WNYC's ''Soundcheck'' said the band plays "gritty blues with a thoroughly contemporary bite.” ''

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

'' stated the group's music is "swampy, sweaty and muggy....mixing a bluesy foundation with bits of country, folk and squawking American rock and roll.” 2013 also includes tours through the United States, Europe, and the UK. ''Living Blues'' said of Moreland & Arbuckle, “Deeply satisfying...gritty soul and blues with garage overtones and fire-and-brimstone vocals." Their 2016 album, ''Promised Land Or Bust'', was nominated for a

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy, " ...

in the Rock Blues Album category.

Discography

As Moreland & Arbuckle

* 2016: ''Promised Land Or Bust'' (

) * 2013: '' 7 Cities'' (

) * 2011: ''Just A Dream'' (Telarc) * 2010: ''Flood'' (Telarc) * 2008: ''1861'' (

) * 2005: ''Caney Valley Blues'' (Moreland & Arbuckle)

As Moreland, Arbuckle & Floyd

* 2006: ''Floyd's Market''

References

External links

Moreland & Arbuckle at BMA ToursMoreland & Arbuckle Official Website
{{Authority control American blues musical groups