Sister Hazel returns to LaGrange

Sweetland Amphitheatre is set for a star-studded show on Aug. 23 when 90s bands Sister Hazel and Everclear take the stage.

Sister Hazel is no stranger to LaGrange having previously performed at LaGrange College.

“Many, many years ago, we played LaGrange, and some of our very good friends opened for us. They were kind of little known then, and now they’re huge, Blackberry Smoke,” said Jett Beres, bass player and vocalist for Sister Hazel.

He said that’s not the group’s only connection to LaGrange.

“We’ve got some connections with LaGrange, our business manager — our manager since the beginning — he had a farm out in LaGrange and lived there for quite a while,” he said.

Beres said the band plays plenty of small towns like LaGrange.

“We play everywhere. Anywhere that’ll have us,” Beres said. “We just got back from Europe. We’re just a traveling band, so whoever wants us, that’s where we will play.”

The band has developed quite a following since their debut in the 90s. Their fans, Hazelnuts as they affectionately refer to them, attend shows around the country and the world.

Sister Hazel will perform with another 90s band, Everclear, next Friday. Beres said they are not touring with Everclear but have done shows with them in the past.

“Every once in a while we play shows with them, and it seems to be a pretty good bill because we’re kind of different, but our crowd likes them, and their crowd seems to like us,” Beres said.

While some might call Everclear and Sister Hazel 90s alternative, Beres described the band as American Rock & Roll. That doesn’t mean Sister Hazel is without fans across multiple genres. The group even has a top country song.

“We put out a record and our single went to the country’s top five. We didn’t make a country record, but for some reason, the country world kind of accepted it. So since then, we’ve played the Grand Ole Opry. We just played our 11th show at the Grand Ole Opry. But I don’t think anybody considers us a country band,” Beres said.

“The country world has embraced us a little bit through the years, which has been great, Beres said. “We just write music from the heart and we’re storytellers. We got harmonies and slide guitar and that sometimes it fits that world. We let other people place our music.”

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