Big Daddy Love: Hitting the Road, Spreading the Love

If you can judge a band by its name, you'd probably guess that Big Daddy Love is not a gentle string quartet. And you'd be right.

Their music has been described as "a blend of rock, bluegrass, southern soul, and psychedelic jams." And one reviewer has characterized them as "a band with teeth" (fortunately in both a literal and metaphorical sense).
The five-man group--which hails from Winston-Salem, North Carolina--has already played hundreds of shows in more than half the states of the union, and lead singer Scott Moss says his head is still swimming a bit from the band's success:

“It’s a total life change. You go from having a full-time job and playing on a weekend, to one day jumping in a van, and that’s where I’ve been. You have to have it in your veins to want that.”

Along the way, their venues have ranged from the Pleasant City Wood-fired Grill to a Halloween extravaganza at the Owl's Eye Winery.

As to the origin of their (toothful) name, "It started as a joke," says Moss, "but since the solidifying of this current lineup [he's the newest member] I believe the significance is obvious to the attuned listener. We're all about spreading love everywhere we go, and joy. Lots of the songs are centered around love, respect and family, and those are the underlying themes we wish to spread with our performances. We want everyone to smile and feel like they're at home with us, and a part of our story as we travel spreading our message of love. So to speak."

They've got five CDs out, so far: "Live at Ziggy's," "This Time Around," "To the Mountain," "Let it Grow," and a fifth that's a compilation of the latter two, containing even more love than usual.

These plaudits just in, from a reviewer in Georgia: "Big Daddy Love is a force. The festival scene has been eating them up. If you haven’t been able to check them out yet, then you are missing out. It’s a foot-stomping good time at every single show, and they are the nicest guys I have met in music."

In the meantime, they've won the Under the Radar contest at FloydFest, an annual roots music festival in rural Virginia. And they've opened for Willie Nelson before a crowd of more than 4,000 at the Jomeokee Campground in Pinnacle, N.C.

If it's hard to remain humble in the face of so much praise, the band doesn't show it: "The place was absolutely full," says banjoist Brian Swenk. "They loved us. They gave us a huge standing ovation. That experience is about as good as it can be. One, you get to open up for one of your musical heroes, and two, to have the crowd enjoy it so much – it was great."

And though their set list for Beartrap hasn't been finalized yet, it'll no doubt be carefully geared to making audience members feel the love...Big Daddy style.