Stage Buzz: Billy Bob Thornton & The Boxmasters at Joe’s Live September 16 • Rosemont
Billy Bob Thornton and J.D. Andrew
The Boxmasters — featuring musician/actor Billy Bob Thornton and guitarist J.D. Andrew – plays an amalgam of twangy country music, jangling rockabilly, and infectious pop, with large doses of Americana and British Invasion influences. Although most people are primarily familiar with Thornton as an actor, music was his first love.
Thornton initially started out as a drummer in his uncle’s country band, then played in rock bands opening for Ted Nugent, Earl Scruggs, and Richie Havens, while also performing in a ZZ Top tribute act. “I started in music as a little bitty kid,” he explains during a recent Zoom chat. “I was influenced by the British Invasion; I saw everybody on Ed Sullivan. I was in bands all through high school and opened for a lot of big names, and became a roadie for a lot of big names. Then I went to California to play music and ended up accidentally getting into acting.”
Sometimes when an actor steps off the big screen and onto a stage to perform music, people are pleasantly surprised—or overly critical—about the artist’s other creative outlet. Everyone from Johnny Depp to Keanu Reeves to Kevin Bacon has faced some kind of backlash before proving that they possess the talent to be among the best. “I don’t even understand why people would say that,” Thornton says about receiving criticism. “Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin sang and did movies and danced, and that used to be fine. For some reason, the fans want to separate everything. We got that a lot in the beginning of the band. But that’s kind of dissipated over the years because we’ve built a real band with a real following around the world. So we don’t get that (criticism) hardly anymore.”
Thornton’s right-hand man and guitarist in The Boxmasters—J.D. Andrew is a Grammy Award-winning recording engineer for Kanye West’s **The College Drop-Out, while other credits include The Rolling Stones, The Pussycat Dolls, and more. According to Andrew, The Boxmasters’ camaraderie and musical chemistry between all of its members is something special. “We want to push ourselves and push what we’re doing as far as we can,” Andrew explained. “We are just constantly trying different things and using different instruments. It’s still Billy writing the lyrics, and him singing the songs and playing the drums, and me playing the other stuff. I think a key part of what we do is just having our own individual sound. And that’s one of the things I’m most proud of, is that we sound like The Boxmasters.”
The band’s latest album, **Pepper Tree Hill (released on July 11, 2025, through Keentone Records), boasts familiar sounds of the sixties that salute their influences of bands such as The Beatles, The Kinks, The Byrds, and more. **Pepper Tree Hill was recorded at the band’s own recording studio of the same name. On its 11 diverse tracks, the band injects a plethora of British Invasion influences, most notably on tracks “Work It All Out” and album closer “In Change.” “With ‘In Change,’ we tried to say as cleverly as we could that as you get older, you start to moan about the old days of (music) being better and everything,” Thornton explains. “But you know what? The music’s still there.
Even through all of the changes, some of these heroes are still here. Eric Burdon is still here, Paul McCartney’s still here. We will always have the music. As long as you have a record player, you’ve got the music. Just remember when you get down and you think it’s never going to come back around, it’s still there.”
Joining The Boxmasters on the album’s title track is legendary trumpeter Herb Alpert. “Herb actually played on three or four things for us, but this was the only one that’s been released so far,” Andrew admitted. “He asked to play on a song, and it made sense that he played on that song, which is kind of our “Penny Lane” tribute song. It immediately sounds like Herb Albert, and it’s brilliant. I can’t believe that we have a song that he played on.”
Also appearing on the album is longtime collaborator and Boxmaster alum Brad Davis on guitar. “He was in Billy’s solo band from the late nineties, and Brad has always been a collaborator and a part of The Boxmasters,” Andrew enthuses. “Brad played an amazing guitar part. We have our friends and heroes on our record, and it’s mind-blowing.”
The Boxmasters have toured all over this continent, including opening slots with Willie Nelson, The Who, Steve Miller, and George Thorogood. The Boxmasters’ current headlining tour began in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on August 20th and ends in Los Angeles on October 19th, with a stop in between at Joe’s Live in Rosemont on September 16. “Chicago’s always a fun city to be in; the restaurants are great and the people are really open.” Thornton reflects. “The last time we played there was at the Ravinia Festival with Marty Stewart, and we had a great night. We’ve worked so hard over the years, playing all over the country, and a lot of places have really embraced us.”
At age 70, Thornton isn’t ready to retire from either of his professions. His only desire is to keep making music with The Boxmasters. “I just want to keep going and doing the same thing and build our following every year,” he confesses. “Every year, the money’s gone up and the gigs have gotten bigger as our fan base has grown wider. And we’re just going to keep doing that. Retirement’s out of the question. If you retire, you stop dreaming. I don’t like that.”
See Billy Bob Thornton & The Boxmasters at Joe’s Live in Rosemont on Tuesday, September 16.
– Kelley Simms
Category: Featured, Stage Buzz
