The Jeff Richey Experience
The Jeff Richey Experience (JRE) is a quartet of seasoned bluegrass, folk, jazz, and rock musicians based in Berea, Kentucky, who are dedicated to performing and recording original music composed by bassist, lead vocalist, and bandleader Jeff Richey. Jeff (a native of Savannah, Georgia) is Professor of Asian Studies, and Mike (a native of Kalida, Ohio) is Professor of Political Science, at Berea College. Robert (a native of Lexington, Virginia) is an alum of Berea College who played with Jeff in the Berea-based acoustic quartet Mud Pi from 2009 through 2012. Randall is a Berea native and longtime roots musician in the region. After Jeff narrowly survived a near-fatal car accident in 2013, he decided to concentrate on performing original music from then on, organizing the first iteration of The JRE on October 24, 2013 with Mike, Robert, and then-Berea faculty member Jason Coomes on lead guitar, with whom the first three JRE albums were recorded. It was Coomes who suggested the self-parodying name \u201cThe Jeff Richey Experience,\u201d based on the band\u2019s founding purpose. After Coomes\u2019 departure in late 2015, tenor saxophonist and then-EKU faculty member Zip Irvin joined up, recording the band\u2019s 4th and 5th albums (and parts of its 6th album) before departing in late 2017. Longtime Berea area roots musician and co-proprietor of Berea\u2019s Music Makers (instrument shop and recording studio) Randall Conn, a member of the regionally-renowned bluegrass band Blind Ricky who engineered the previous 5 albums, joined up on banjo, dobro, and steel guitar in late 2017. This third and most recent iteration of The JRE recently completed its 6th album, now available on Amazon, CD Baby, iTunes, and Spotify, and will perform next at Noodle Nirvana in Berea on April 21. The group has performed regularly in clubs, festivals, and on radio in central Kentucky since 2014