The Road to Red Bluff Fest: Little Raine Band + The Major Dudes May 7, 2025 13:28

Photo by Sarah Mayfield

Interview by Jordan Kirkland: Live & Listen

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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 Davis Little (guitar/vocals) & Daniel Raine (keys/vocals) of Little Raine Band & The Major Dudes, who are both performing on Sunday, May 18th.  

While LRB began making waves out of Auburn just over a decade ago, The Major Dudes is a newer project, which specifically focuses on the incredible catalog of Steely Dan. I couldn't be more sincere when I say that these guys are amongst the most talented and genuine kind humans I've ever met. My mind is blown every time I see these guys take the stage, and Sunday at Riverwalk Amphitheater is going to be a very special occasion on the Montgomery Riverwalk. 

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!

Everyone with Red Bluff Fest is thrilled to have both Little Raine Band & The Major Dudes on this year’s lineup. We’ve done this in previous interviews, but for those who don’t know, could you provide the back story on how LRB came to life?

Daniel: LRB was officially created when we were in high school (2010-2012), but Davis and I had been playing together before then, playing duo gigs and writing together. The name for our duo just kinda stuck when we started playing with the full band. 

The Major Dudes has been a fascinating project to watch. I feel like you’re in the 2-3 year mark now, but correct me if I’m wrong. This is an extension of LRB, with some killer additions in the mix. Tell me about the inspiration behind this incredible Steely Dan tribute. 

Davis: Yeah, it’s been a couple years in the making.  Basically we realized that we cover enough Steely Dan tunes in LRB to do a Steely Dan cover band “alter ego” so to speak.

We finally gave it a try when we had the opportunity to open for a band at a small venue in Birmingham & it went over pretty well. Over time we’ve added a few members: Will Cash on guitar, Aaron Dick on Keys, and sometimes Lenora Panion on vocals. 

Our idea is to really put our own spin on these tunes. Allow for moments of improvisation & re-interpretation, but also honoring the original compositions & signature parts. 

You guys seem to have found a nice balance between these two bands, other side projects, and reaching music. How has the schedule been shaping up for y’all?

Daniel: We all have different side projects that we are writing and playing with, but something always brings us back to wanting to play together. We are still writing together for LRB, and we plan to release more music in 2026.

We’re putting a pause on Major Dudes for right now, but we hope to bring it on the road for some travel dates next spring. Coming up in Birmingham, we are doing a “Bham’s Dead”night on June 20th at Workplay featuring acoustic versions of some of our favorite Grateful Dead tunes.

Little Raine Band has proven to be one of the most dynamic, creative bands in Alabama over the past decade. I’ve always admired the bond y’all have, and that’s obviously crucial for keeping a band alive this long. What’s been the key to keeping the drive alive?

Davis: It’s a brotherhood really. Daniel and I have known each other since kindergarten. I think our friendship is what really drives the engine. We’re also not exactly concerned with commercial aspects of the band. We really just want to make some music that is interesting to us.

We’re always trying to grow and develop as musicians, and we don’t try to let ourselves off easy on the musical front, we’re always trying to push the envelope just a bit for ourselves. 

Circling back to The Major Dudes, I’d love to hear more about where y’all are within the Steely Dan catalog. That’s not an easy one to tackle. How much preparation went into this thing before you felt ready to perform live? How many tunes are in the bag at this point?

Daniel: We definitely have had a lot of fun with the Steely Dan material. It lends itself to explore outside of the box and improvise a little bit. We had a few extensive rehearsals leading up to those Nick shows, and we have about 20-30 songs under our belt. We’ve played around with the Idea of doing an entire album front to back, but which one would we do and why would it be Aja? Haha 

LRB & The Major Dudes will kick off Red Bluff Fest on Sunday, May 18th. Fans will get an hour of LRB, followed by an hour of killer Steely Dan covers? What can the Montgomery faithful expect from both of these totally unique sets?

Davis: The LRB set will have some originals maybe a few covers, and definitely some sit-ins with the other Major Dudes. For the set by The Major Dudes, you can expect some classic Steely Dan tunes done in our own special way.