The Bacon Brothers may be bound together by blood and a mutual love of American roots music, but they’ve grown into sharp songwriters and cinematic storytellers with their own distinct approaches. The band’s 12th release, “Ballad of The Brothers,” is a record that highlights not only the similarities between Kevin Bacon (known worldwide as an A-list Hollywood actor) and Michael Bacon (celebrated as an Emmy-winning composer), but the differences, too.
The pair will perform at the 2024- 25 season opener of the Lutcher Theater (707 Main Ave. in Orange) on Saturday, Oct. 19, at 7:30 p.m. Prices start at $40, and tickets can be purchased online at lutcher.org.
Kevin and Michael gave an exclusive interview with The Examiner to promote this weekend’s show at the Lutcher.
Q: How was the transition from making movies then going into the studio to record music?
KB: I’ve have been writing music since I was a little kid, but I didn’t know what it was like to perform the music in front of people. Like anything else, when you put in time – whether its acting or music – you learn what soundchecks are, how to budget time and all the stuff in the studio. Early on, I started getting on my own recording equipment, so I learned how to DIY things. So, all those places are comfortable to me now. Playing music live in front of people is much more akin to theatre. You are sharing that show to those people that night. It’s an electric ‘one off’ experience. Recording music is much akin to making a movie or television show. You try to recreate the feeling of being live.
Q: Growing up as kids in Philadelphia, do you recall a moment when you and your brother plan to make music?
KB: There was also the thought. My brother was always encouraging in my very limited musical ability. Michael is a seriously trained musician. He was in orchestras as a little kid and played every instrument. I looked up to him. I wanted to try to write songs and play the guitar. I didn’t have the time to hunker down and shred. Even though I pursued acting, we would get together and write tunes. Starting out, it was the idea of writing music for somebody else. Then around 1995 we played one gig together and thought, ‘Wow, we are playing our songs as us.’ And it felt good. It was never a grand plan. It was more of like the band was leading us around. It never started as the kid from ‘Footloose’ is going to do some music. But when we played that first show, we played those songs that took us 10 to 15 years to write, plus a bunch of covers. What happened after that show is the fact we start writing, a lot. That kept the band going. When you write a song, you want to go out and play it. That’s why this keeps rolling along.
Q: The composition of the new album ‘Ballad of the Brothers’ is phenomenal, and I really dig the actual song, ‘Ballad of the Brothers.’
KB: That’s my brother’s song, but one of our favorite places to play is Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, Texas. He wrote the song based on the legend of the ‘Willie Door,’ which is a funny entrance to the backstage of the venue. You have to go through a window. It’s landmarked, so you can’t put a door there, so you go through a window. The song expanded into being a fish out of water – East Coast city kids that come to Texas. Plus, the layering of all the great music and musicians of Texas.
Q: I noticed one song in your set list is ‘Footloose.’ Was that something you knew had to perform because of Kevin’s starring role in the film?
MB: We were always ambivalent about it. First off, it’s not our song. But it brings such joy to people. When we play it, it makes everyone really happy