IV AND THE STRANGE BAND with HOLY LOCUST

Patience is a virtue. Those words are tattooed across Coleman Williams right arm, forever reminding the alternative-country singer/songwriter of the benefits of taking ones time. The lesson wasnt always so clear. As the great-grandson of Hank Williams Sr., grandson of Hank Williams Jr., and only son of Hank 3, Coleman spent years waging an internal battle with the expectations thrust upon him by his own lineage. He represented the fourth generation of country musics most legendary family hence his nickname, IV and the pressure to launch his own career was enormous. Although Coleman would eventually make his mark with Southern Circus the genre-bending debut from his band, IV and the Strange Band, combining southern storytelling and country textures with 100-watt guitar amps and DIY attitude he needed to break free first and discover his own musical approach along the way.Before I even knew who I was, people were already expecting things of me, he says. It felt like there was zero freedom of expression for someone with the last name Williams. Singing about a bloodline didnt appeal to me, though. I wasnt interested in fitting into a shadow that already existed. What did appeal to me was the underground scene in Nashville.Coleman became a fierce champion of Nashvilles house-show circuit as a teenager, drawn in by the scenes supportive spirit and DIY ethics. This was a community that valued principles over pedigrees. A community that offered artists of all stripes a place to express themselves. From punk shows to heavy metal gigs to electronic experiments, Coleman loved it all and for the first time in his life, he felt like he belonged somewhere. I was a weird kid who grew up in an unusual situation, he says. When I began going to house shows in Nashville, I felt like Id found a family of people whom nobody else wanted kids who were different and misunderstood and during these two-hour shows, everyone belonged, everyone felt accepted, and everyone had a place. The experience taught me to trust my instincts. It gave me a new sense of independence. I have to believe thats why Hank Williams made music, too; he could see what it did for people.Inspired to blaze his own trail, Coleman left town after high school and traveled across America, developing musical tastes that were as diverse as the country itself. Over the decade that followed, he became a history buff, a poet, a metalworker, and an educator. Back home in Nashville, he continued his lifelong practice of writing songs, developing the unique sound a blend of the amplified and the acoustic, laced with fiddle one minute and heavy guitars the next that would later fill Southern Circus. Coleman took his time. He wanted the sound to be right. Patience is a virtue, after all. Local producer Jason Dietz became a fan of Colemans songs, prompting the two to begin collaborating. Guitarist David Talley joined them, as did banjo player, Daniel Mason and drummer Carson Kehrer.