Biography

Jay Burgess of the Pollies was raised in, on, and by the music of Muscle Shoals - He’s been a “young pup” to many of the Shoals music scene stalwarts for practically his entire adult life, from his days as a young guitar slinger to his early songwriting efforts encouraged by Jason Isbell to the creation of the Pollies, the band he’s used as a prism to reflect some of the weirder, prettier strains of Southern rock music. Many peg their music to decidedly non-Southern influences like Wilco or Neil Young, but the true spirit of the Pollies’ idiosyncratic take on Southern music is reflective of a long tradition bearing no resemblance to Molly Hatchett or the like. The sounds of Southern rock bands who don’t fit within the genre “Southern rock,” foremost among them the legendary Big Star from up the highway in Memphis, echo throughout the Pollies' slightly weird, sometimes noisy, always pretty rock songs. The evolution of the Pollies has brought them full circle. A true band, whether playing their own music or collaborating with Dylan LeBlanc, Nicole Atkins, John Paul White, Browan Lollar (St. Paul & the Broken Bones) or the late Chris Porter. The band’s current touring with LeBlanc helped cement the present lineup and their lovely yet gritty sound, like a Southern Crazy Horse veering between delicate beauty and a freight train roar. Pollies are: Jay Burgess - Guitars / Vox Spencer Duncan - Bass Jon Davis - Drums / Percussion Clint Chandler - Keys / Sounds