Real Music From The Heart, Home, & Holler 

By: Patrick Smith 

South East Kentucky is known for musical talent. Our own hometown is partially known because of the bluegrass megastars The Osborne Brothers. Lately though, a new musical force has stormed onto the scene and they’re already transcending the boundaries of Leslie County. They are Eddie Fee, John Sizemore, Doug Napier, and Neal Parrett, better known as Hillbilly J.E.D.  

J.E.D. began as a simple jam band in 2015 that consisted of Eddie Fee and Doug Napier in Fee’s garage. Soon John Sizemore came into the mix and over the course of the next two years the garage began to become over populated with spectators and Hillbilly J.E.D. knew it was time to take the next step. With overwhelming demand for original music the band settled in and began writing original material that would, in the end, being an album’s worth of songs that paint a vivid picture of small town life, hard work, and LIVING our lives. The songs would eventually be recorded at Sneak Attack Recording Co. in Lexington, KY with producer/engineer Jason Groves at the helm. 

A string of shows at Tennessee Brewsky's led to J.E.D. being invited to open for Chris Knight.  Which, in turn, has brought the band to the forefront of the music scene not only in our local area but in the tri-state area as well. Upcoming performances include the band opening for country/rock legends the Kentucky Headhunters as well as Exile, Chris Knight, Whiskey Meyers and more.  

Drummer, Doug Napier tells us that the band describes them selves as ‘Americana’ and that the motivation to record an album of original music came from the owner of Tennessee Brewsky's who told the band that cover bands are a dime a dozen and their original music needed to be shared with the world and they hope that their album will expose even more people to their style of music.  

There is definitely something on this album for everyone. The song ‘Hyden Town’ is described as a, “knee-jerker,” by Doug. It’s a true-to-life story of living in Hyden, Kentucky. ‘Superman’ is a ballad with the line, “your lovin’ makes me stronger than Superman.” One of the darker songs on the album, the final track, ‘The End’ describes comparing the past with the present and hoping that things get better. These are just a few examples of the stellar song writing and playing on the freshman effort from Hillbilly J.E.D. titled, ‘This Road I’m On’.  

Hillbilly J.E.D. has a bright future ahead with festival touring and their first album dropping on all streaming services on April 27, 2018. The album can be purchased digitally on this website and there will also be physical copies and t-shirts available soon.