Th' Legendary Shack*Shakers

Th' Legendary Shack*Shakers

Th' Legendary Shack*Shakers, currently stylised as The Legendary Shack Shakers, are a Nashville, Tennessee-based rock band that begins in 1998. The group describes its image as “Southern Gothic” and builds its sound from a mix of punk, polka and traditional hillbilly music, with connections to psychobilly, rockabilly, country, punk and blues.

The band’s lyrics are often poetic and deliberately nonsensical, and common themes include carnivals, monkeys, murder, mental illness, Jesus, the Devil and alcohol. Frontman Col. J.D. Wilkes is known for highly theatrical stage antics and is compared to Iggy Pop and Marilyn Manson.

The band draws support from a number of notable musicians. Robert Plant is a fan and gives the group a free support slot on his Europe tour in 2005. Other admirers include Jello Biafra of Dead Kennedys, Jim Heath of The Rev. Horton Heat, Hank Williams III and Jason Ringenberg of Jason & the Scorchers.