This Nashville band first formed when GRAMMY-winning songwriter Melody Walker (formerly of Front Country) and singer Caitlin Doyle (formerly of Smooth Hound Smith and Dustbowl Revival) decided to claim some joy back coming out of the Covid lockdown. Walker and Doyle had long wanted to form a Grateful Dead tribute band, and after first planning on an all-women band as they jammed with various musician friends, someone joked “Well, if we put ‘em in drag then we’ll still be all girls.” The group is rounded out by Thomas Bryan Eaton (lead guitar), Mike Wheeler (vocals/guitar), Jacob Groopman (bass), Alex Jordan (keys), and Justin Vorp (drums). For what it’s worth though, they each answer to the name “Bertha.” Though they started as a protest of Tennessee’s 2023 ban on drag performances in public, with a series of benefit concerts around Nashville raising money for local LGBTQ+ causes, they’re now on a national tour that included the Kennedy Center’s honoring of the Dead last December, and the Grey Eagle in Asheville on Saturday. At the heart of BERTHA is just a group of very talented, Grateful Dead-loving musicians who love sharing their favorite tunes with fellow fans. Jambase describes them as “far from a gimmick. These musicians are the real deal and have some of the best harmonies and vocals of any Grateful Dead tribute act.” As for the extent to which Grateful Dead culture syncs up with drag culture, Walker explains that “Drag is super psychedelic, in my book. And the Dead were all about freedom, joy, true artistic exploration and expression, and FUN. They were counter-culture, not culture warriors.”
Live in Studio B, Friday at 4pm: BERTHA: Grateful Drag
