What do you get when you combine Southern California and Southern rock? You get Robert Jon & The Wreck, a band of native Californians who have electrified audiences worldwide with soaring guitar leads, rich vocal harmonies, and memorable tunes.
Since the band’s inception in 2011, Robert Jon & The Wreck have traveled the world, where they’ve shared the bills with Joe Bonamassa, Blackberry Smoke, Peter Frampton, Joanne Shaw Taylor, The Mavericks, Buddy Guy, and Rival Son. The 2020 album Last Night on the Highway garnered worldwide acclaim and 2021’s Shine a Light on Me Brother led to a collaboration with Joe Bonamassa’s Journeyman Records.
More recently, the band released Ride into the Light, a dynamic, multi-faceted album featuring Bonamassa and Josh Smith. An eclectic mix of producers and artists brought the band to new heights in musicianship and songwriting, evoking the sounds of timeless classic bands such as The Allman Brothers, Eagles, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. In April 2023, they dropped their first-ever live concert DVD and album, Live at the Ancienne Belgique. Recorded at a sold-out show in Brussels, Belgium in 2022, it spanned the body of work of their first decade and received rave reviews. Mike O’Cull of Rocks & Blues Muse summed it up this way: “Robert Jon & The Wreck prove that straight-up rock and roll still matters and can move modern fans. We’re all lucky that this show was captured for our eternal enjoyment. It’s a winner on every level.”
The band is a combination of original musicians and relative newcomers, all of whom fit together seamlessly. Robert Jon Burrison, who plays guitar and sings lead vocals, is the driving force behind Robert Jon & The Wreck. He grew up listening to his dad’s Motown and gospel records, but when he discovered classic rock as a teen, he picked up a guitar and never looked back. He tips his hat to blues and rock legends that continue to inspire him.
Drummer Andrew Espantman’s uncle played bass and toured Europe with a Danish pop star. He looked at his uncle and asked, “If he can do it, why can’t I?” He did, minus the bass and pop star, and has held down the rhythm section since Robert Jon & The Wreck formed in 2011.
Henry James, lead guitarist and vocalist, joined the band in 2017 and he brings a psychedelic edge to Southern rock. Fascinated by the classic sounds of the ‘60s and ‘70s, he spent his teen years jamming around Southern California.
Warren Murrell, the bass guitar player, has been liberating the low end for more than a decade. Prior to joining the band in 2017, he played bass for a variety of SoCal groups. He is also a graduate of the Musicians Institute for Drums and Audio Engineering and has been a session engineer for Dweezil Zappa, Don Preston, and Gordon Campbell.
Keyboard player Jake Abernathie is the newest member of the band and brings a warm and classical sound and a modern sensibility together. He has worn many hats in his career, from folk band frontman to orchestral arranger, and he has a passion for producing music for other artists as well as for himself.
Come hear a band that respects the past and looks to the future. You’ll be a wreck if you don’t.
