HonkyTonk Knights Take On Newport Music Scene

Next time you’re in the mood for live music in Newport, make sure to look out for the The HonkyTonk Knights. The band performed a gig at last Thursday night and it was a packed house. 

“We usually have two crowds,” said Steve Cerilli, a Newport resident who plays guitar for The HonkyTonk Knights. “There are the customers that are finishing up dinner when we begin playing at 9 p.m. who usually stick around, and then the crowd that comes in at around 10 p.m. when we really get going.”

The HonkyTonk Knights have been making music together for the past two years. Cerilli, lead guitarist for the band, said he started the trio to "explore country music and early rock 'n roll on guitar." Since their inception, Cerilli has added a lap steel and telecasters to give the group an electric band sound instead of remaining solely acoustic, and a drummer.

The HonkyTonk Knights began as a trio featuring upright bass, and two acoustic guitars. Will Cooley plays the upright slap bass and also plays guitar for his rockabilly band High Octane. Bill Cote plays guitar as well and also plays in Chelly Bill and Dyl. To give them a more rock 'n roll feel, Jay White splits time on the drums between the HonkyTonk Knights and Rebel Heat. 

While the band plays cover songs from genres like country blues, rockabilly, bluegrass, and their eponymous honky tonk, they also play many original songs as well.

"We play about 12 originals from my songbook, some date back to my twenties when I worked with Rolling Stones producer Jimmy Miller, others were written a few months or weeks ago specifically for our new sound," Cerilli said. 

The trio has been playing Perro Salado every Thursday night for over a year, and said they have developed a loyal fanbase.

“One thing that I love about The HonkyTonk Knights is that they bring something different to the Newport community,” said Newport resident Kyle Reichman. “I’ve really liked their music since the first time I saw them and it’s great that they are adding another element to the music scene here.”

Each of the band members are seasoned players and vocalists and all share a common love for Roots music, not to mention they said they enjoy getting people to dance. While there wasn’t much room in Perro Salado, mostly due to the crowd piling in, a look around showed a crowd that was getting into the music. Cerilli was right, around 10 p.m. latecomers were vying for space, so make sure to get there early to claim a spot, he said.

If you want to catch up with The HonkyTonky Knights, the band plays , , the Clarke Cooke House once monthly on a Saturday night, and every other month. The band has also played for fundraiser events such as , Newport events such as and the , and they also play at on occasion.

To view the complete schedule for The HonkyTonk Knights click here.