Sundy Best is an American country duo formed by Nicholas Jamerson and Kris Bentley from Prestonsburg, Kentucky.[1] Their music is a blend of country, Appalachian folk, bluegrass, rock, soul, and R&B.[2] They released their album Bring Up the Sun in 2014. The duo announced their break-up in March 2018.[3] Since the breakup, Jamerson continued his musical career as a solo artist. In October 2020, the duo announced that they would be reuniting.
Sundy Best | |
|---|---|
 Kristofer Bentley and Nicholas Jamerson performing at Rumba Cafe in Columbus, OH | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Prestonsburg, Kentucky |
| Genres | Country, Folk, Rock |
| Years active | 2010–2018, 2020-present |
| Labels | E1 Music |
| Members | Kristofer Bentley Nicholas Jamerson |
Origin
editSundy Best was formed by two friends since elementary school, Nick Jamerson and Kris Bentley, from Prestonsburg in Eastern Kentucky.[4] Both were athletes in college, with Jamerson playing football while at University of Pikeville where he studied history, and Bentley played basketball at Centre College in Danville where he studied English. They formed a duo after college, and moved to Lexington, Kentucky in August 2010.[5] Jamerson performed as the lead vocalist and played the guitar, with Bentley on the cajón drum.[6] Their name referred to the way they pronounce "Sunday best", their best clothing worn in church where they began playing music together on Sundays during their senior year in high school.[4][7]
Music career
editIn their first year as a duo, Sundy Best produced an album, Tales, Lies and Exaggerations, which was a demo recorded at home.[8] In December 2011, they raised $15,000 through the crowd-sourcing website Kickstarter to fund their first studio-recorded album.[7][9] The album, titled Door Without a Screen, was released in the summer of 2012. They were then signed to the E1 Music music label which released a deluxe version of the album on August 27, 2013.[10]
2014: Bring Up the Sun and Salvation City
editSundy Best recorded their next album, Bring Up the Sun, which was produced by RS Field. The album features 15 songs, including remakes of previously recorded songs, "Home," "Lilly" and "These Days."[11] The video for "These Days" was released on 11 November 2013.[12] The video for their lead single, "Until I Met You", was released on February 12, 2014.[13]
Bring Up the Sun was released on March 10, 2014.[14] The album reached No. 11 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and No. 70 on the Billboard 200 in its debut week, with 5,000 copies sold in the U.S. for the week.[15]
Their third album Salvation City premiered on Rolling Stone on December 1, 2014, and was released for sales on December 2, 2014.[16][17] The album debuted on the Top Country Albums chart at No.22.[18]
On March 8, 2018, Jamerson announced on Facebook that the duo had broken up and that he would pursue his own project, performing as a solo artist and as part of The Jamersons with his brothers and sister.[19] In October 2020, the duo announced via their Facebook page that they would be reuniting, which Bentley subsequently confirmed in conversation with a reporter.[20]
Discography
editAlbums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [21] |
US [22] |
US Heat [23] |
US Indie [24] | |||
| Door Without a Screen |
|
33 | — | 7 | — | |
| Bring Up the Sun |
|
11 | 70 | — | 14 |
|
| Salvation City |
|
22 | — | — | 11 | |
| It's So Good Live |
|
49 | — | 24 | — | |
| Almar Sky |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| Feel Good Country |
|
|||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||
Singles
edit- "Home"
- "Lily"
- "These Days"
- "Until I Met You"
Music videos
edit| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | "Home"[26] | Coleman Saunders |
| "Lily"[27] | ||
| "Mountain Parkway" | ||
| "These Days"[28] | ||
| 2014 | "Until I Met You"[29] | |
| "I Wanna Go Home"[30] | ||
| "Lotta Love"[31] | ||
| "Southern Boy"[32] | ||
| 2015 | "Do You Wanna Go"[33] | Blake Judd |
| "My Sweet Thing" | AmericusTrue | |
| "Four Door" | Coleman Saunders |
References
edit- ^ "Sundy Best". CMT artist. Archived from the original on April 30, 2013.
- ^ "Sundy Best". Allmusic.com.
- ^ Copley, Rich (March 8, 2018). "Sundy Best announces breakup. Members will pursue other projects". Lexington Herald-Leader.
- ^ a b Chris Parton (August 26, 2013). "Sundy Best Make an Impression With Moving "Home"". CMT Edge.
- ^ "biography". Archived from the original on January 28, 2014.
- ^ Ester Marr. "Putting Their "Best" Foot Forward" (PDF). BG – A Way of Life. The Lane Report.
- ^ a b Lorie Hailey; Esther Marr (April 24, 2013). "Lexington's Sundy Best climbing country music video charts". The Lane Report.
- ^ "Sundy Best to perform in Pikeville: July 13 show first since new album". Medical Leader. July 13, 2012.
- ^ Alex Lovan (March 25, 2012). "Sundy Best plays for Kentucky crowd". Kentucky Kernel.
- ^ "Kentucky's hottest new duo, Sundy Best, inks deal with Entertainment One Music". eOne Music. July 22, 2013.
- ^ Mary Meadows (2014-02-28). "A Conversation with Sundy Best". Medical Leader.
- ^ "Sundy Best CMT World Premiere of "These Days" Today, Monday 11/11". Music News Nashville. November 11, 2013.
- ^ "Sundy Best › Music Videos". MTV.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2014.
- ^ Chuck Dauphin, Nashville (March 5, 2014). "615 Spotlight: Sundy Best Shine on 'Until I Met You,' Talk Eclectic New Album". Billboard.
- ^ Matt Bjorke (March 12, 2014). "Country Album Chart News: The Week of March 12, 2014: Eli Young Band "10,000 Towns" Hits Top Of The Charts". Roughstock. Archived from the original on March 20, 2014.
- ^ Joseph Hudak (December 1, 2014). "Hear Kentucky Buzz Band Sundy Best's Trippy New LP 'Salvation City'". Rolling Stone.
- ^ "Sundy Best Announce "Salvation City"". The Daily Country. November 16, 2014.
- ^ "Billboard Chart Roundup – Week of December 20th, 2014". For the Country Record. December 9, 2014.
- ^ "Eastern Kentucky duo Sundy Best breaking up". WYMT. March 9, 2018.
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/amberphilpottwkyt/posts/4566220046783240 [user-generated source]
- ^ "Sundy Best Album & Song Chart History – Country Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media.
- ^ "Sundy Best Album & Song Chart History – Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media.
- ^ "Sundy Best Album & Song Chart History – Heatseeker Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
- ^ "Sundy Best Album & Song Chart History – Independent Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
- ^ Matt Bjorke (September 3, 2014). "Country Album Sales Report – September 3, 2014". Roughstock. Archived from the original on September 4, 2014. Sales figure given here here
- ^ "Sundy Best to Make Primetime TV Broadcast CMT Debut on Day of Pikeville Homecoming Show Friday, April 19". Retrieved March 29, 2014.
- ^ "CMT : Videos : Sundy Best - "Lily"". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on August 24, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
- ^ "CMT : Videos : Sundy Best - "These Days"". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on January 13, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
- ^ "CMT : Videos : Sundy Best - "Until I Met You"". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on February 13, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
- ^ "CMT : Videos : Sundy Best - "I Wanna Go Home"". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ "CMT : Videos : Sundy Best - "Lotta Love"". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
- ^ "CMT : Videos : Sundy Best - "Southern Boy"". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
- ^ "CMT : Videos : Sundy Best - "Do You Wanna Go"". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on March 8, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015.