45 Years & Still Rockin’
Open Chord hosts Knoxville music icon Bill Kincaid
It was about 1975 when I first heard Bill Kincaid rip chords from an electric guitar. I was a freshman at West High School and inseparable from childhood friend Randy Holmes. Kincaid was with “Blackberry Winter,” a four-piece rock band that practiced at Knoxville’s Cumberland Estates Recreation Center near Western Avenue.
Holmes and I were regulars at “The Rec Center” and thrilled to listen in to the practices. Holmes was serious about music, saving his allowance to buy his first guitar, a used Fender Telecaster.
More than 45 years later, we came full circle. “The Kincaid Band” was headlining May 8 at arguably Knoxville’s top music venue, “Open Chord” on Kingston Pike.
“Blackberry Winter was a unique band,” Kincaid said before taking the stage. “I was black, there were two females – one on drums and one on keys. Eddie Hunt was handicapped and on bass. Eddie taught me my first lead lick. I was just a rhythm player up to then.”
““I was around gospel, East Tennessee music, Cas Walker Bluegrass, all these and other genres,” he said. “I soaked it all in. I came to love all music, from Hendrix and Van Halen to Chet Atkins and Roy Clark.””
Kincaid, a Maryville resident, grew up in North Knoxville with three brothers. He picked up his first guitar at Fulton High School, though he learned far more than music. He studied broadcast production, graduated in 1973 and began a television career that included stints at Knoxville’s WTVK-26 and WBIR-10. He retired from WVLT-8 in 2020.
From operating a camera to directing news casts and special productions, his was a career with exposure to virtually every music genre.
“I was around gospel, East Tennessee music, Cas Walker Bluegrass, all these and other genres,” he said. “I soaked it all in. I came to love all music, from Hendrix and Van Halen to Chet Atkins and Roy Clark.”
Kincaid quenched his music thirst performing in Knoxville on weekends before taking the big leap in 1977. He left WBIR to go on the road with Dave Nutzell in May as the band ‘Desire,’ returning to Knoxville in October.
Kincaid again teamed with Nutzell in 1979, who had formed “News Band,” which became The Kincaid Band in 1996. Nutzell is now taking a break from performing live, so The Kincaid Band recently added Walter Moore on bass, guitar and keyboard.
While Kincaid was immersed in television production and music, Holmes was honing his entrepreneurial skills. The life-long Knoxville resident formed Knoxville-based WEBTEC Converting, an international contract-manufacturer of adhesive-backed medical devices like bandages and surgical drapes. His products were in households, clinics and hospitals, and included names like Breathe Right Nasal Strips and Dr. Scholl’s.
Holmes never forgot his true love – music. He joined the Knoxville band “Abbe’s Equation,” playing guitar from 2006-2011. He sold WEBTEC in 2011, in part, to focus on music. And in 2014, he started Open Chord as a music store and live-music venue he calls “all things music.”
“Open Chord began as a music shop offering music lessons,” he said. “We now offer the best guitar selection in Knoxville, live entertainment, a full dinner menu and a full-service bar.”
Open Chord has grown to become Knoxville’s top live-music venue and now includes the “Open Chord Brew House and Café.” The café features original recipes and local ingredients. There are made-from-scratch appetizers and entrees, along with locally roasted, always fresh coffee and hand-crafted espresso drinks. Drink selections include exclusive signature cocktails created inhouse and locally brewed beers.
A variety of local and national acts perform at Open Chord, but Holmes said it’s special when Knoxville’s home-grown The Kincaid Band appears.
“Bill Kincaid has been one of my local music heroes,” he said. “He’s never in a bad mood, always happy and one heck of a guitar player. Bill and Tron Luttrell (of “The Kincaid Band”) are Knoxville music icons. One of my best music memories was sitting in with them on stage as a guest guitarist.”
““We’re old, and we’re still rocking,” he added with a laugh. “I guess we’re the local Rolling Stones. I’ll keep playing until I’m not able to play, and Tron said he’ll keep playing until he dies.””
Bringing Holmes on stage is an example of Kincaid’s audience interaction and genuine love for people.
“Anytime you can play music and talk to people who enjoyed the show, what’s not to love,” Kincaid said.
Kincaid described the band as “entertaining, a rock act.” With decades of experience, they perform original music and cover multiple genres from the 1950s to current hits.
“From Prince to Elvis, and James Brown to Hank Williams Jr. to Metallica, we play it all,” he said.
“We’re old, and we’re still rocking,” he added with a laugh. “I guess we’re the local Rolling Stones. I’ll keep playing until I’m not able to play, and Tron said he’ll keep playing until he dies.”