A bluegrass version of the Who's 'Tommy'? The Hillbenders will play the 'opry' at Payomet + 5 more concerts

As tributes to classic rock go, the Hillbenders have one you might not immediately think of at Payomet Performing Arts Center this weekend. See the story below, and here are three more concerts to consider for your listening pleasure:

► As part of Cape Cod Beer’s Summer Concert Series, it will host the Dirty Water Dance Band ($15, $10 online in advance) from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday and “Music of the ‘60s” with the Jeff Lowe Band ($20) from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday in the outdoor beer garden, 1336 Phinneys Lane, Hyannis; https://capecodbeer.com/. There will be small bites and snacks from JP’s Twisted BBQ; beer, wine, cider, cocktails and soda for purchase; and all ages are welcome.

► Los Angeles Americana-soul group Dustbowl Revival will play the Martha’s Vineyard Concert Series with a show at 8 p.m. Friday at The Loft, 9 Oak Bluffs Ave., Oak Bluffs in support of its most recent single "The Exception" (a collaboration with fellow Americana luminaries The Secret Sisters); https://www.mvconcertseries.com/.

► The Fred Clayton Trio will play an outdoor show of “Blues for a Sunday Afternoon” at 4:30 p.m. Sunday as the second show in the Music & More Summer Concert Series at the Cape Cod Museum of Arts, 60 Hope Lane, Dennis. Tickets: $20, $17 for members or season passes are available; https://www.ccmoa.org/events/the-fred-clayton-trio

► Amythyst Kiah will perform at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 29 at Payomet Performing Arts Center, 29 Old Dewline Road, North Truro; $25, $22 for members; https://payomet.org/. Kiah is an emerging talent in the roots music world, playing a range from old-time music to classic country to contemporary R&B. Kiah is a member of Our Native Daughters all-women-of-color supergroup, which won a Grammy Award nomination for “Black Myself,” which she wrote.

A bluegrass version of the Who's 'Tommy'?

Get ready to hear classic rock band the Who in a most unusual way.

The Hillbenders will perform a live version of their 2015 album “Tommy: A Bluegrass Opry” Saturday night at the Payomet Performing Arts Center in North Truro. The band will wrangle the renowned rock opera “Tommy” into a banjo and mandolin-driven set that will finish up with some of the Hillbenders’ own original material.

This is the latest show of Cape Cod love for the 1969 “Tommy” record, following a stage musical version in March at the Cotuit Center for the Arts. But having the blessing of the person whose music you’re covering is always a sign that you’re doing it right — especially when you’re taking their music and translating it through a completely different genre than the original.

That’s the situation for the Hillbenders, who have been given thumbs up from none other than the Who’s Pete Townshend for their interpretation of the guitarist’s landmark record.

Morphing classic rock with bluegrass

Playing the Who isn’t as big of a stretch for the Hillbenders as one may think. Although they started out as “straight-down-the-line bluegrass,” the group isn’t your typical bluegrass band, as guitarist Jim Rea points out.

“We would play a lot of bluegrass festivals but we weren’t the traditional act, we were kind of the wild card on the bill,” Rey says, “so that rock and roll sentiment has always been in our performance.” Rea says he grew up listening to classic rock and playing it on his guitar before becoming interested in bluegrass.

The theater version: 'It's mind-blowing': Unusual retelling of The Who's 'Tommy' debuts - finally - at Cotuit center

The Hillbenders formed in 2008, based originally out of the Ozarks in Missouri. The band was already rolling with its own successful original music when former South by Southwest co-founder and music producer Louis Meyers came to the members with the idea of mixing their bluegrass sound with the music of “Tommy.”

“He was a banjo player and picked through these tunes over the years and envisioned this album,” says Rea of what would become his group’s “Tommy: A Bluegrass Opry.”

Rea, who is a huge fan of the original album, gave an immediate “yes” to Meyers’ idea back then, and the rest of the band followed. They went into the studio with Meyers producing the record and becoming the Hillbenders’ manager.

“The tunes seemed to flip into a bluegrass style relatively easily,” says Rea. The “biggest challenge” was finding a way to fill in the “wild and eccentric drumming” of Keith Moon. The Hillbenders — who didn’t have a drummer at the time but have since added one — were able to add “percussive elements” to the songs through their string instruments.

“We also have an opera-trained singer on our mandolin that allows for that same power (Who singer) Roger Daltrey had behind his voice,” adds Rea.

That Pete Townshend stamp of approval

Meyers got a copy of the 2015 record in the hands of Townshend and, in 2016, introduced Rea and his bandmates to Townshend and Daltrey at a Who concert in Nashville. The Hillbenders would go on to open for the Who in 2019.

Another type of tribute: Mystic Bowie's 'Talking Dreads' show adds island vibes to Talking Heads lyrics + 3 more concerts to see

“It’s kind of wild, man, because one of the first records I pulled out of my folks’ album collection was ‘Who’s Next’ and then ‘Tommy,’ so I’ve been a Who fan forever,” Rea says, “and it has been pretty surreal for me for this interpretation of it actually bridging all the way to the originator of it. … It’s pretty cool.”

Despite not having the Who’s “thunderous bass and huge drum kit” to back their rendition of the songs, Rea says, he and the Hillbenders were keen on keeping the gusto of the music intact on the studio recordings.

“That was one of the things that Pete complimented us on,” Rea says. “That the spirit was kind of the same. It wasn’t just a cookie-cutter bluegrass version, just double-time-it-and-go type thing. The music was important to me and to Louis, so we really tried to keep that spirit going and not make a mocking version of anything.”

Being thankful

“Tommy” isn’t the only bluegrass version of the Who that the Hillbenders perform. The group also showcases “Who Grass,” a bluegrass exploration of other Who songs. Stretching out even further into the rock spectrum, the Hillbenders have teamed up with jam band veteran Keller Williams for “Petty Grass,” a tribute to — you guessed it — Tom Petty, as well as another bluegrass salute to the Grateful Dead.

Rea calls it a “niche” the Hillbenders have stumbled onto, but they still continue to write and record their own original material. The latest full-length project was 2018’s self-titled album. The group released a single in December and has another scheduled out in July with more on the way, ultimately culminating in what Rea says will either be an EP or full-length album by the end of this year.

Usually, the Hillbenders will add on a set of their own songs to their Who shows and plan to do so at Payomet. Having the ability to get people to listen to his own music thanks to the hook of the Who isn’t something that Rea takes for granted.

“It’s this gratitude thing of the Who’s legendary catalog that has survived over these generations and decades, and how it’s now allowing me to introduce my music to all sorts of fans around the country and the world,” he says.

To see the Hillbenders

When: 7 p.m. Saturday, June 25

Where: Payomet Performing Arts Center, 29 Old Dewline Road, North Truro

Tickets: $25-35, members $22-32

Reservations and information: https://payomet.org

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: The Who's 'Tommy' as bluegrass? Hillbenders to play 'opry' at Payomet