The Road to Red Bluff Fest: Electric Blue Yonder May 12, 2025 16:34
Interview by Jordan Kirkland: Live & Listen
Click Here: Purchase Tickets to Red Bluff Music & Arts Festival
Red Bluff Music & Arts Festival represents one of Montgomery, Alabama's latest annual celebrations, and we're counting down the days to the third installment on May 16th - May 18th. The 3rd annual festival will be held at Red Bluff Bar (Friday) and Riverwalk Amphitheater (Saturday & Sunday), featuring a wide variety of national and regional acts across a diverse musical spectrum.
As we prepare for this year's festival, we're catching up with each of this year's performers to gain and share some additional insight for anyone planning to attend the festival. The series continues today with Johnny Veres (guitar/vocals) & Beth Hataway Veres (guitar/vocals) of Electric Blue Yonder, who will be kicking off the festival on Friday, May 16th at Red Bluff Bar (next door to Riverwalk Amphitheater).
Electric Blue Yonder represents one of the two Montgomery-born bands on this year's lineup, and their unique style of "space folk" will make for a beautiful start to the festival. It's been a pleasure watching Johnny & Beth lead this band to continued new heights over the course of the past decade. Friday night marks EBY's first Montgomery performance of 2025, and the band is ready to provide their hometown with an incredibly memorable evening.
Check out the conversation with below, and make sure to head over to your preferred steaming platform for all of the band's latest releases. Make sure to grab your RBF tickets in advance this year. Advance ticket sales go such a long way for artists, festivals, and promoters. If you're one of the many who believe in Montgomery's live music scene and want to see it succeed, don't wait til the day of show to secure you're spot!
It feels like Electric Blue Yonder has been going strong for about a decade now. I may be off by a few years. The lineup has evolved over the years. How did everything get started, and how did we get here?
Johnny: The seeds of Electric Blue Yonder were planted when I decided to reboot my old college jam band, Helicopter of Love. Joseph Johnson, one of the original members, came back onboard, and Beth joined us as we reimagined the group with a fresh approach. That early version was all about live experimentation and improvisational rock grooves — very jam-oriented — but eventually, it started to run its course. Around that time, our bass player and close friend Winfred Hawkins pulled me aside and said, “Y’all are on to something different here — you should really pursue it.”
Beth and I started writing more structured songs together, and those became the first chapters of what would grow into Electric Blue Yonder. From the beginning, our vocal blend became one of the defining features of the sound. The original core lineup was me, Beth, and Joseph, and we all contributed songs and shared a vision for the project.
Early on, we played a few shows with Andrew Mohney on drums, but he moved on for a while. We went through a few rotating lineups before he eventually found his way back to us. In the meantime, we connected with Russell — who was living in Spanish Fort and working at Moe’s BBQ. We invited him to sit in on a show at the Daphne Moe’s, and the chemistry was instant. He joined us for more shows, and it quickly became clear that the pieces were falling into place.
Eventually, Joseph left the band — the touring lifestyle just wasn’t the right fit for him at the time. His departure pushed me to focus more seriously on developing my guitar skills and stepping into the role of lead player, and it also opened up space for Beth to really blossom as a guitarist in her own right. That shift helped define the melodic interplay — especially in our vocal harmonies — that became the emotional center of what we do.
I’ve always been interested in the concept of “space folk,” which seems to be the phrase associated with EBY. I’d love to hear more about this specific genre of music.
Beth: “Space folk” came about as a way to describe something we couldn’t quite categorize. We were drawing from traditional folk and Americana — close harmonies, acoustic instruments, story-driven songs — but blending that with a deep sense of wonder, psychedelia, and curiosity. There’s a dreamlike quality to what we do, but it’s grounded in roots.
Our harmonies are really at the heart of it all — that’s the thread that ties everything together, whether the arrangement is stripped down or fully electrified. Over the years, “space folk” has made room for more of our psychedelic rock influences. It’s allowed us to bring a more expansive sound to the acoustic foundation we started with. It’s not just about genre — it’s about a feeling, a mindset. We like to think of it as music for seekers — people looking to connect on a deeper level, whether through wonder, nostalgia, or emotional resonance. “Space folk” is about honoring where we come from while imagining where we could go next.
I know that Key West has become a second home for y’all. From what I understand, y’all are splitting your time between Montgomery and KW. Can you tell me about your history / relationship with the island?
Johnny: My first trip to Key West was totally unplanned. I was working with a former employer, and we’d driven down to catch some spring training games near Tampa. On a whim, one of my coworkers — Taylor Massey — offered to drive us the rest of the way down to the island in the middle of the night. He was doing intermittent fasting, so he hadn't eaten or had anything to drink and was wide awake to make the drive. We rolled into Key West just as the sun was rising over the Southernmost Point — not a soul around — and I saw the island for the first time in that soft, quiet morning light. It made a deep impact on me.
Later, I had the chance to return and lead the restoration of a historic home on the island. That’s when I started to understand the deeper rhythm of Key West — the version of the island that lives off of Duval Street, the real community heartbeat. Around that same time, Beth and I were deciding where to get married. We took what we called a “pre-anniversary trip” to Key West, and by the end of it, we knew this was our place. We got married there in 2015, made lifelong friends at our wedding, and have been woven into the community ever since.
These days, we split our time between Montgomery and Key West — two very different places that both mean the world to us. Montgomery gave us our roots, and Key West gave us space to bloom in new directions. And honestly, in some ways, they’re not so different — both places are full of wonderfully weird people. The difference is, in Key West, there’s a kind of radical permission to be exactly who you are. Nobody cares what you do or where you’re from, as long as you’re kind. That spirit has shaped not just how we live, but how we create.
Things really seem to have taken off in these past few years. The band seems to be busier than ever, and I know it must be rewarding to see your music resonate with more and more people. What all is on deck for EBY in 2025?
Beth: 2025 is shaping up to be our most ambitious year yet. We’ve just announced a new run of summer tour dates as part of our Have Space Folk, Will Travel tour — and one of the highlights is joining Susto for a special show in Key West on July 14th. That one’s going to be a great night with good friends and a hometown crowd.
We’re also excited to return to The Alamo in Key West later that week for a two-night stand, which always feels like a celebration of everything we’ve built down there.
On the MicroPARTY front, things are growing fast. After a nearly sold-out debut in Key West earlier this year, we’re bringing on our first official team member this June — a Creative Director — to help guide and grow the universe we’re building. We’re expanding into live shows, licensing, content, and educational outreach, building it from the ground up one piece at a time.
In the midst of all that, we’re also diving into new music. We’ve been writing steadily, and we recently caught up with Kevin Ratterman — who mixed and mastered MicroPARTY — to talk about working together again on our next studio album. The new material is already pushing deeper into the cinematic side of what we do, and as always, our vocal harmonies are the thread holding it all together.
And across the board — whether it’s EBY or MicroPARTY — you can expect even more immersive and captivating performances moving forward. There’s a lot more in the works that we can’t quite announce yet, but it’s coming. So follow along with us on the website, socials, and YouTube — we’re just getting started.
EBY is kicking off the 3rd Annual Red Bluff Music & Arts Festival on Friday, May 16th. How much does this new hometown festival mean to you guys, and what should the Montgomery faithful expect from your set?
Johnny: We’re looking forward to playing Red Bluff — this’ll be our first show back in Montgomery this year since the Whitewater Park set got canceled due to weather, so we’re glad to have another chance to connect with folks here at home. We’re happy to see the efforts of the team behind Red Bluff starting to take shape — they’re trying to serve the city with more entertainment options, and that’s something we’re always behind. We’re excited to kick off the festival Friday night!
We’ll be bringing the full band and a set that reflects what we’ve been dialing in on the road — a mix of older tunes, newer material, and whatever the moment calls for. Our vocal blend will be front and center, like always. We’re always up for collaboration too, so don’t be surprised if a few special guests join us during the set. Should be a fun night.
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