Billy Bob makes BC stop

Photo: Instagram

Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton is bringing his band The Boxmasters to the Okanagan.

The band will be live at The Mule on Martin Street in Penticton on Sunday, Sept. 11, for their only B.C. stop.

The Boxmasters is an American country rock/rockabilly band founded in Bellflower, Calif., in 2007.

It features Thornton playing the drums and doing vocals, with J.D. Andrew on rhythm guitar, Danny Baker (aka Unknown Hinson) on bass guitar, Brad Davis doing vocals and playing lead guitar, and Micheal Wayne Butler on guitars and lap steel.

The group has released three albums on Vanguard Records.

Before he started The Boxmasters, front man Thornton had played in two cover bands, worked as a roadie, and released four solo albums.

After listening to "Yesterday's Gone" by Chad & Jeremy and thinking about covering it in a hillbilly music style, he had the idea of making Americanized version of British Invasion pop songs.

During its early days, the band played several live shows in the California area, as well as in Tecate, Mexico.

From mid-2008 to late-2008, the group embarked on a tour across the United States, ending in Los Angeles.

It also played for the March 2009 South by Southwest conference.

The group went on to play in Canada in early 2009

In the aftermath of a controversial interview on the CBC Radio One program Q in early April 2009, in which Thornton labeled his Canadian audience "mashed potatoes with no gravy," the band stopped its Canadian tour early.

It resumed touring in mid-April 2009 in the United States. 

The Boxmasters are returning to Canada with the stop at The Mule. 

Tickets are on sale here.