Jackson grad's band perfecting sound

Jackson native Casey Benefield and his band Acklen debuted their first full-length album, "Postcards," this summer and will soon be making their way to his hometown.

Benefield, a 2010 graduate of Jackson High School, now attends Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., where he formed Acklen with fellow student Kyle Burnside. They began writing music together their freshman year and have spent the past two years performing in Nashville at venues such as The National Underground and The Listening Room, as well as throughout the Midwest, perfecting their alternative rock sound.

Acklen has many Nashville performances coming up as well as a concert at 6 p.m. Saturday at Tractors in Jackson.

The band got its name from the road Belmont University is on, and the band sees it as the place that brings them together from their different backgrounds. Acklen is Benefield on lead guitar and vocals, Burnside on rhythm guitar and vocals, Jason Kollar on drums and Brent "Tarka" Layman on bass.

"Kyle Burnside and myself write all of the songs, and I think we've been a really good team as far as songwriting goes. We focus each other well. I think I'm kind of a melody guy, I play lead guitar, but we complement each other so well, so I think as far as singing and the songwriting goes me and Kyle work great together," Benefield said.

Benefield, who has performed locally since age 13 and released two solo albums along the way, said his influences come from all kinds of genres and musicians including Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Mike Zito and John Mayer. He described Acklen's style as "just kind of a good feeling, alternative pop rock" that is often compared to the band Augustana and Tom Petty.

"I've played with so many people around Jackson and Cape, I got a full range of influences, and I still see today some of that blues and stuff that I grew up obviously still coming through in my guitar playing," Benefield said.

Benefield said they decided to name the album "Postcards" because, like the title track, the album reflects a theme in his and Burnside's writings of trying to convey a message often about relationships and distance.

"It just kind of felt like the right thing. We didn't know that going into recording, but the record turned out I think pretty well, and that's kind of the theme of it, a lot of the songs," Benefield said. "We went in the studio with a buddy of ours, Mike Reaves, and I think he really nailed down the sound that we were talking about, and I think all 10 songs have a cohesive theme but also have versatility, the sound of them in general, but I think we've written a pretty cohesive and cool record."

The band's album is available on iTunes. More information can be found through the band's website, Acklenmusic.com, its Facebook page, @AcklenMusic on Twitter and on YouTube. The group has grown and expanded in its two years and is hopeful of even better things to come for them.

"Playing with the guys has changed so much over time, something that I really like is how much we've grown I feel like already," Benefield said. "It's a lot different than what me and Kyle just started writing music on acoustic in our dorm room. ... We've gotten to start playing bigger and better things, better shows. I mean I'm just excited for where it's heading in general, because I think we got a lot of stuff currently that's been kind of going our way."

Pertinent address:

Nashville, Tenn.

124 S. High St., Jackson, MO