An exciting after parade punk rock concert event happens on Saturday, March 16th at 9 PM at Diego’s Barrio Cantina in Middletown to celebrate the 50th birthday of RI Music Hall of Fame drummer Stumpy Nation. All are invited to share the joy as Stumpy performs with Neutral Nation and the Dopey Lopes Up All Night Band. Stumpy’s brother Lee Ross kicks it off at 9 PM with his super funky danceable stage experience.

About Stumpy Nation

Originally a native of Orange CT, Stumpy Nation arrived on the RI music scene in 1988 when he enrolled at URI as an undergraduate majoring in history. His early band experiences came in the New Haven. He was inspired to pick up the drums at an early age and considers Liberty Devitto as one of his biggest influences. Yet other reports say that Stumpy has the jazz great “Billy Bruford” looking over his shoulder also. Regardless, since arriving in RI, Stumpy has set the pace for all other area drummers to follow. His first band called “The Flower Shop” featured the great Sara Lupo on vocals. He also briefly founded a band with David Rawlings, who later became well known for his work with Gillian Welch. Later, Stumpy joined Two Guys and Another Guy and continued working Dopey Lopes and his solo act. Another of his early bands, called the Friendly Dragons, was a groundbreaking act in the spirit of Spinal Tap by performing in costume whilst masquerading as a british supergroup. It was after a wildly successful performance with the Friendly Dragons in 1991 at the Living Room in Providence RI that Stumpy was first introduced to the members of Neutral Nation.

It was a chance meeting indeed, since Nation had just received notice their drummer was quitting the band and were holding auditions. They were pretty pleased with what they saw from Stumpy onstage that night. In short order Stumpy joined Nation, the band recorded an album and then departed on a hugely successful west coast tour. Stumpy was a breath of fresh air for the act, and literally give them a new life with the enhanced energy and exceptional skill he brought to the role of drummer. In 1994, Nation decided to hang it up which forced Stumpy to set out in an entirely new musical direction, when he and a few others formed the influential cannabis-jam band called Herbal Assault. That trendsetting act performed frequent well attended and memorable shows at the Ocean Mist in Matunuck RI, then later opened for Cypress Hill. It was during this era that Stumpy took his first steps in becoming one of the earliest “drummer-artists” in the region, with activities beyond just hitting the drums to occupy his time. Stumpy set up a rehearsal and recording studio to further his acts and also founded the funk band Herbal Nation during this time as his musical tastes evolved into the Funk realm, influenced by the great James Brown, along with George Clinton and P-Funk.

With Herbal Nation, Stumpy was firmly in the driver’s seat instead of watching from the back of the stage like other drummers. He produced a CD for Herbal Nation and booked a string of highly successful performances, including an appearance at the 15th annual Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam. When Herbal Nation folded, the timing was actually perfect because during those few years away, Neutral Nation had enjoyed a resurgence and an independent film about their experiences was in the works by noted filmmaker David Bettencourt. Stumpy produced a run of shows that were filmed for the movie, and was closely involved with the project from the beginning. All of this hard work caught the notice of the RI Music Hall of Fame and Neutral Nation was inducted in 2016, performing a wildly successful concert at the induction ceremony. Today, as he turns 50, Stumpy is busier than ever working with Neutral Nation and the Dopey Lopes Up All Night Band. He’s recording and producing a new release with Dopey slated for mid-2019 release and will be announcing his summer bookings for Nation and Dopey Lopes shortly. Join him on 3/16 in Middletown RI at Diego’s Barrio Cantina, OR at the Revival Brewery in Cranston on 3/17. Stumpy performs again with Dopey Lopes at the Ocean Mist in Matunuck RI on 4/5/2019 in support of the Bickersins.

For more information, visit the Facebook Event.