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 “The Jeff Richey Experience,” based on  the band’s founding purpose.  After Coomes’ departure in late 2015,  tenor saxophonist and then-EKU faculty member Zip Irvin joined up,  recording the band’s 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’s 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