Ingram Hill

Ingram Hill functions as a band rather than a solo act, and none of its members actually carries that name, much as Lynyrd Skynyrd and Jethro Tull never featured musicians matching those monikers. Sharing an earthy, unpretentious stance with Cracker, Train, and Tonic, the group blends elements suited to both alternative pop/rock and roots rock. Although the Memphis-based quartet does not mirror classic rock acts of the 1960s and 1970s exactly, its output carries a contemporary edge by the standards of the 1990s and early 2000s while retaining the down-home rootsiness that resonates within Southern rock audiences. This approach avoids the hell-raisin' good ol' boy clichés that defined Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, the Outlaws, the Marshall Tucker Band, and Black Oak Arkansas during the 1970s; instead, Ingram Hill favors reflective, introspective, and thoughtful lyrics. Its influences span Tonic, Cracker, Blues Traveler, and the Gin Blossoms as well as the Black Crowes—a frequent point of comparison—along with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, the Rolling Stones, and John Cougar Mellencamp.

The group assembled in the summer of 2000 when Justin Moore, handling lead vocals and rhythm guitar, and Phil Bogard on lead guitar linked up with University of Memphis acquaintances Shea Sowell on bass and background vocals plus Matt Chambless on drums. Moore and Bogard had previously performed together in the Memphis outfit the Bamboozlers, active from 1997 to 2000 and responsible for the CD Shopping for Stuart. Throughout 2001 and 2002, Ingram Hill logged extensive tours across the Deep South, cultivating a modest yet devoted regional audience. Its initial offering arrived in 2002 via the self-released debut EP Until Now on Traveler Records; Emerson Hart, singer of Tonic, produced five of the eight tracks, and the disc moved roughly 10,000 units. The following year the Memphis musicians issued their first full-length effort, June's Picture Show, still on Traveler and helmed by Rick Beato, whose prior credits include work with Billionaire, the Tender Idols, Flickerstick, and singer/songwriter Michelle Malone. Weeks after its appearance, Ingram Hill secured a deal with Hollywood Records, which reissued the album in February 2004. Cold in California emerged on Hollywood in 2007. Personnel shifts followed, as Sowell departed and Zach Kirk stepped in during 2008. The band then issued the Unplugged EP that same year before parting ways with its major-label affiliation. In 2010, Ingram Hill aligned with Rock Ridge Music for the album Look Your Best. Although Chambless participated in the recording, he exited prior to the September 28, 2010 release date, leaving the lineup as a trio of Moore, Bogard, and Kirk.