Bacon Brothers

Most people would agree that there’s nothing stronger, more durable, and occasionally more volatile, than the bond between brothers. And when that bond includes the common goal of making music, the results often offer reason for an audience to sit up and take notice.

Just ask the Bacon Brothers. Fiercely devoted to making music, even from an early age (they cite such influences as the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Motown, Led Zeppelin, Philly soul, and James Taylor, with mentions from Michael of Pete Seeger, Jimmy Rogers, Chet Atkins, and the Jim Kweskin Jug Band), the two siblings share a singular body of work that’s found them spending more than 20 years of working the road and paying their dues, resulting in eight albums spanning rock, soul, folk, and Americana. Never content to be typecast, they’re fiercely devoted to the cause of making music, undeterred by fame, fortune, or the pitfalls that frequently obstruct the path to success.

It’s not that either brother lacks the means to steal the spotlight. Kevin Bacon is an award-winning actor with 80 films and dozens of television and stage credits to his name, resulting in numerous Emmy and Screen Actor’s Guild nominations. Older brother Michael initially began making music in their native Philadelphia before moving to Nashville, where his songwriting career blossomed. An Emmy-winning composer, he most recently scored the documentary "That Way Madness Lies." Other recent works include an audiobook, "You Don't Look Your Age...And Other Fairytales," and the HBO documentary "RX: Early Detection with Sandra Lee,” which premiered at Sundance in 2018.

Michael and Kevin don’t view the band as simply a sideshow, and their commitment to music-making is clear throughout their body of work. Kevin points to an opening slot for The Band at Carnegie Hall, surveying the Texas landscape in the midst of a lightning storm, rocking the Stone Pony on the Jersey Shore and Cains Ballroom in Tulsa. For Michael, it’s been all about touring in Germany and Japan, and the fascination he feels performing for overseas audiences. Critics have noted that the brothers—Michael on vocals, guitar, and cello and Kevin on vocals, guitar and percussion—eschew any hint of glitz and glamour in favor of an ethic gleaned from the hard lessons that come as a result of determination and drive.