Blues brothers spread a little gospel sound tonight

Recently, Wendell Holmes learned that tonight's performance at Hampton's American Theatre has been billed as "A Gospel Christmas With the Holmes Brothers."

He was quite surprised.

"They tell me it's to be a gospel Christmas, whatever that is," the trio's guitarist, pianist and co-lead singer said with an easy laugh from his Rosedale, Md., home. "I'm gonna make it my business this week to rehearse the band with some Christmas and gospel songs, I guess. Probably stuff like 'Merry Christmas, Baby,' 'Please Come Home for Christmas,' and then we've got a very special version of 'Silent Night.' I'll play the piano and we'll do some three-part harmony, put our own spin on it."

Those famous goose-bump-inducing harmonies will be created with bassist and sibling Sherman Holmes, and drummer and "brother of a different mother" Popsy Dixon, a Virginia Beach native.

The two Holmes brothers grew up in the Middlesex County town of Christchurch, now called Saluda, he said. They forged their brand of gospel-inflected blues, soul and country by singing at the local churches on Sunday.

"It was a small town, and my brother and I were about the only ones who could play anything. I guess you could say we were large musical fish in a small pond. So we played around in all the area churches."

But the night before, they would play the blues, soul and raucous rock at their cousin's local club, Herman Wate's Juke Joint.

"When he couldn't get any good groups to come from Norfolk or Richmond, he'd call us in," Holmes said with a chuckle. "That's how we honed our sound.... We used to say we'd rock 'em on Saturday and save 'em on Sunday."

Since forming the Holmes Brothers Band in New York City in 1979, the group has rocked 'em with their own sound, which also includes healthy doses of classic country.

"I love country music," Wendell Holmes said. "I love George Jones, Hank Williams and Randy Travis. Growing up in Virginia in the late '50s, the local black stations didn't have a lot of wattage, but we did hear Hank or George come through on 50,000 watts, so we grew up on that. And that was a blessing in disguise. After all, country is just another form of blues. We now simply call our music Southern roots, good ol' authentic American music."

That good ol' music is reflected in the Holmes Brothers' recordings, especially the most recent release, "State of Grace," which included, alongside a slew of originals, covers of songs by Lyle Lovett, George Jones, Hank Williams, John Fogerty, Nick Lowe and even Cheap Trick. The album was also highlighted by collaborations with Levon Helm, Rosanne Cash and Joan Osborne.

That recording netted the group the 2008 Blues Music Award for Soul Blues Album of the Year. They also won the Blues Foundation's Band of the Year award in 2005.

The group's upcoming Alligator Records release, "Feed My Soul," will feature mostly original songs penned by Wendell.

"I had a bout with cancer, which I now kicked in the butt. I had to take some time off and during that time I wrote songs, songs that will be on the album. That shot across the bow made me realize what is important in my life. It made me a little more introspective."

Holmes said his cancer scare will make him a more grateful man during this season of blessings. He said he and his brothers are looking forward to their Hampton concert, their only Virginia performance of the year.

"We're looking at this as a 'hometown' concert, and we love that theater - the audiences are always so welcoming and warm," he said. "I'm telling our Tidewater fans not to miss this show; they'll hear the heart and soul of the Holmes Brothers wrapped up in a warm night of music. And we're gonna raise the roof, too. We're gonna rock 'em and roll 'em."

And they'll throw in a few Christmas tunes for good measure.

Eric Feber, (757) 222-5203, eric.feber@pilotonline.com