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Caleb Talley
Kappa Sigma

On Friday, March 9, the Delta Bends took the state at Rogue for their first ever live performance as a band.

It didn’t take long for a crowd to appear in the bar on Dickson Street.  The headliner that Friday had been The Swoops, a band native to Northwest Arkansas.  But this large and enthusiastic crowd had gathered around the stage early. They came for the opener.

Although the Delta Bends were born in Rogue that night, they were conceived in the basement of my Fayetteville home. 

Down a set of green carpeted stairs, in a basement lit only by ropes of Christmas lights and neon signs, the four friends and Kappa Sigma fraternity brothers got together to jam, just for fun, before going out that night.  My man cave soon filled up with musical equipment – a drum set in the corner, guitar cases and foot pedals spread across the floor and enough amplifiers to be heard from space.

What started out as just a jam session with a few friends, turned into a live show in the basement.  Slapping the bass was sophomore Garrett Parker; junior Alex Burns was behind the drums; and playing guitar and providing the vocals were junior Patton Hughes and fifth year senior Jared Heiles.

These sessions quickly became routine.  Before long, others were dropping by to hear the guys play, encouraging them to consider playing for the public.  Shortly after they had been playing together on a regular basis, the group was given the opportunity to perform in their first show – opening for The Swoops on Dickson. 

With only a couple of weeks to prepare, they gladly accepted.

“Once we were given the opportunity to play at Rogue, we had to get a set list worked up pretty quickly,” said Burns.  “We wanted to come up with a list of songs that we’d enjoy playing just as much as the crowd would enjoy hearing.”

The Delta Bends is what they would eventually decide to call themselves.  Each band member is originally from small towns throughout the Arkansas Delta – Parker from Helena, Burns from Jonesboro, Heiles from Star City and Hughes from Forrest City.  But this region isn’t the home to just the Delta Bends; it’s the home of blues music in general, and the band incorporates the genre, among many others, into their music very well.

“It’s really cool to be in a band that’s able to cover a range of genres,” said Heiles, “especially since we’d only started playing two weeks before-hand.  We’ve been able to incorporate these genres into the original music we’ve written, each of which has their own unique twist.”

“I kind of feel we are pretty aesthetic with our music,” said Hughes. “Since we haven’t recorded yet, we write what we can play live. I think that’s going to keep us from over analyzing or taking ourselves too seriously. It keeps the music really honest, which is something really important to all of us.”

With two weeks of practice and a set list of covers – "Breakdown" by Tom Petty, "Up on Cripple Creek" by The Band, "Message in a Bottle" by The Police and Neil Young’s "Rockin’ in the Free World" – as well as three original songs, the Delta Bends were ready to make their debut.

And they rocked it.

“I couldn’t stop smiling when I looked at the crowd,” said Parker. “Everybody looked like they were having fun; it was contagious.”

The excitement that the band played with was palpable, in and outside of the bar.  As couples made their way past Rogue’s windows, they couldn’t help but stop and listen.  Some even came right in. 

The crowd that had come out to see the Delta Bends perform was not disappointed, and some were happy to share their opinions.

“Soundgasm,” was all I was able to get out of sophomore Scott Compton.

“Patton Hughes brought a lot of energy to the band,” said junior Franz Hayes, “and I’ve never heard a better cover of Robert Plant than Jared Heiles; his voice was spot on.”

“Everyone there was so excited to see them play, and it blew our expectations out of the water,” said sophomore Mindy Moffe. “I can’t wait to see what comes along in the future.”

With their first show under their belt, the Delta Bends are ready to look forward and progress on what they have already established with their music.  But whatever the future holds for the group, they can look back knowing that they put on a heck of a show.

“The show was more then I could ever ask for,” Hughes said.  “I honestly can’t believe we managed to write three songs.  During that first original song we did, I could already hear people singing along with it… that was definitely the best part for me.”

Caleb is a sophomore studying journalism and political science. You may contact him at cxt010@uark.edu.