06/08/2024
See yall Saturday Eve 🎸
A roots-based band will make its first appearance at this weekend’s Toes In The Grand festival.
Steve Hamby and The Ways will headline at 8:30 p.m., Saturday, June 8, on the Cherokee Casino Stage at Wolf Creek Park.
The group began to form in April 2022, when Steve Hamby decided to stop playing for other bands and start writing his own original music.
“Most of us have known and/or played with each other for years in various bands and projects,” Hamby said. “Jeff Parker and JD Smart were instrumental early on in helping develop our sound, and Jeff (owner of Cimarron Sound Lab) produced and engineered our first project.”
Hamby said the name “The Ways” came from an idea that the group did not want to be “just another bar band or group of weekenders and party animals.”
“We hope to be an example of the right way to be musicians by exhibiting professionalism both in our performance and the way we interact with venues and listeners alike,” Hamby said. “You won't catch us drunk, stoned, or strung out. You won't catch us talking bad about other venues, bands, or fans. You won't catch us stuck up, egotistical, or stand-offish.”
Playing Toes In The Grand gives the band a chance to play for friends and family in the Grove area.
“We decided to throw our hat into the ring for consideration this year and we're excited to have been selected,” Hamby said, adding the band seems to “spend most of our time in the 412 corridor between Fayetteville, Tulsa and Stillwater.
“We’ve been known to branch out as far away as Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, and Missouri. The guys in the band are from Tahlequah, Tulsa, Kiowa, Pryor, and Hulbert.”
Hamby said the group plans to play a set list that mixes original tunes with covers everyone can sing along with.
“We hope folks like us enough to share our music with their friends and family,” Hamby said. “It's always awesome when folks take pictures and videos of our performances and share them on their social media. We believe we have a talented group with a lot of great music to share, and we hope people who hear us walk away from our shows feeling the same way.”
Hamby said he wishes people know how much work the band puts in, to perform 60 minutes on stage.
“The songwriting, arranging, recording, producing, marketing, promoting, practicing, collaborating, and perfecting of each original song is a huge undertaking,” Hamby said. “The selecting, arranging, practicing, and perfecting of each cover song is challenging as well because we want to do each song justice, but we want to make it our own as well.
“On top of that, there's the purchasing and maintaining of instruments, amplifiers, gear, equipment, clothing, and accessories that each band member takes care of on their own. There's the windshield time to gigs, families and kids left at home, strained relationships, health challenges, late nights, early mornings, and managing musical conflicts with our personal lives.”
Hamby said each member of the group works hard and sacrifices on a daily basis to do their best to ensure both venues and fans alike feel like they exceeded their expectations.
One last thing
Hamby said he used to say his influences included big names such as Wayon Jennings, Johnny Paycheck, Roger Miller, Buck Owens and Merle Haggard.
But lately, he’s changed his answer to include a group of talented musicians and songwriters from Oklahoma including well-known and well-respected names in Red Dirt legacy like Tom Skinner, Bob Childers, Jason Boland, Cody Canada, Chuck Dunlap, Brandon Jenkins and Mike McClure.
“There are some guys out there right now that are tearing it up on the Red Dirt scene, Hamby said “They're not just great artists, they're great friends.”
He said the musicians the group is listening to include John Fullbright, Johnny Mullenax, Mike Hosty, Red Dirt Rangers, BC & the Big Rig, Jacob Tovar, Carter Sampson, Cassie Latshaw, Zac Wenzel, Jared Tyler, Amber Watson, Emily Hollingshed, Casey West, Dakota Murillo, Scott Evans, Gus Burns, Tom Pevear, Bebo McDaniel, Jake Marlin, Brent Giddens, Brandon Bethel and Charlie Hickman.
For more information, persons interested may visit www.stevehambyandtheways.com. The band has music streaming on most platforms.
