If you, “Woke up this mornin’, dazed and confused,” and sung the lyric in your head, you’ve been bitten by the audio bug that is The Creekers. That line, the opening one from a song called “Tennessee” was the second-most played audio clip on TikTok this summer. It helped propel the Leslie County, Ky.-based bluegrass group to viral success, headline spots at music festivals, and ultimately a record deal with Warner Records.
Co-founder Tanner Horton took time out from digging fence post holes on his home property one evening not long ago to sit in and tell us about the band’s success, songwriting, how they all came together and a lot more. It turns out all but one member of the band has some sort of familial relationship with each other, either as direct as brothers (Jagger and Ashton Bowling), cousins (Horton and Allen Hacker) or by marriage (Scott Sutton).
And then there’s the outlier: fiddler Anna Blanton, whose live show antics have made The Creekers not just a sound for sore ears, but a sight to see live. She’s done everything from zip-lining to riding on her husband’s shoulders while jumping around the crowd. (Charlie Blanton incidentally, is the bass player for friend of the show Bill Taylor and the Appalachian Heatherns.)
Horton told us the story of the band coming together, his history with cousin and fellow guitarist and vocalist Allen Hacker, how the TikTok virality happened and what exactly they’ve got in store in the coming months with the band’s new record deal.
Frank and Falls also chatted about Falls’s recent trip outside of the Americana genre to take his daughter to a Tate McRae concert and they each share their Pickin’ the Grinnin’ pics for recommended music this week. Falls calls out Hazard, Ky., based vocalist Roy Caudill while Frank shares her experience seeing The Dirndolls live.
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Notes and links:
Pickin’ the Grinnin’ Recommendations
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Theme Music: Sheepskin & Beeswax by Genticorum; Copyright 2025 – Falls+Partners. All music on the program is licensed by ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. Roots Music Rambler is a member of the Americana Music Association.
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