Performance by Dominican friars band benefits the Chesterton Academy
By Emily Booker
The Hillbilly Thomists, a band of Dominican friars, shared their blessed, soul-filled sound to a packed Bijou Theatre in Knoxville on Aug. 3.
Fans of the Dominican friars show off the band’s autographs. (Photo Eleyana Nahigian)
The concert, part of their Marigold Tour through the South, was a fundraiser for the Chesterton Academy of St. Margaret Clitherow, a Catholic high school located in Knoxville.
The Hillbilly Thomists was formed at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., while the eight members were all studying or serving in the nation’s capital around 2010. They began playing bluegrass music together during their free time.
Their eponymous debut album was released in 2017 and quickly topped the bluegrass charts.
The eight members of the band belong to the Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Joseph and include Fathers Justin Bolger, Timothy Danaher, Peter Gautsch, Joseph Hagan, Austin Litke, Jonah Teller, Simon Teller, and Thomas Joseph White.
They now serve as pastors and chaplains in different cities, with two band members currently living in Rome, but they gather for a few weeks each year to collaborate on their music and go on tour. Their fourth recording, “Marigold,” was released this summer.
The band combines a bluegrass and Americana sound with the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas to share the message of God’s invisible grace present in the visible world. They use their musical talents to joyfully praise God and preach of His grace with others.
Bishop Mark Beckman visits with the friars backstage. (Photo Eleyana Nahigian)
The name Hillbilly Thomists comes from author Flannery O’Connor, who described herself as a hillbilly Thomist. The Dominican fathers adopted the name to reflect their Southern gothic, old-time sound, in which they share a mix of seriousness and humor.
The group Fiddling Leona and the Johns opened the weekend show. Leona Mathes, a native of Japan who came to East Tennessee to study bluegrass, has performed all over the world. Her set was full of humor and toe-tapping tunes. She also performed a rendition of “The Tennessee Waltz” in Japanese.
After a brief intermission, the Hillbilly Thomists took the stage.
The band expressed excitement in finally getting to play their song “Heaven or Tennessee” to a Tennessee audience. The crowd responded with eager applause. The line “In Knoxville they glorify the Lord” received another enthusiastic, assertive response.
Playing songs from across all their albums, the tunes ranged from traditional picking to folksy to more rock’n’ roll sounds while maintaining a cohesive, praiseful vibe.
Four members of the Hillbilly Thomists harmonize on a song they played during their concert at the Bijou Theatre in Knoxville on Aug. 3. (Photo Eleyana Nahigian)
From the twangy “Bourbon, Bluegrass, and the Bible,” to the rockin’ “Saved on a Saturday Night,” to the reflective “Amos,” the Hillbilly Thomists shared deep, theological truths and praise of the Lord through relatable stories and tunes.
The band brought out Father Chris Masla, a priest from the Diocese of Richmond, Va., to join in a few numbers. Father Masla, in his clerical shirt and collar, joked that he was the black sheep among the white-robed Dominicans. The diocesan priest first played with the band while studying at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
After two encores, the Hillbilly Thomists closed the festive, harmonious evening in prayer.
Among those in attendance at the concert was Bishop Mark Beckman, who only eight days earlier was ordained and installed as the Diocese of Knoxville’s fourth bishop. Bishop Beckman was able to visit with the performers backstage.
