Deliah DeWylde at the Pub

A long time ago, at the dawn of the Atomic Age, a succession of no-good punks and ill-mannered teenagers took the best of American roots music — hard-partying honky tonk country, searing gutbucket blues and lonesome hillbilly twang — and distilled it into a potent moonshine known as rockabilly. This combustible formula, passed down through the generations, forms the heart of the revved-up stylings of Delilah DeWylde.

Delilah DeWylde got her start in 2004. Just like rockabilly originators Johnny Cash, Bill Haley and Carl Perkins, this Michigander cut her teeth on steel-guitar driven country in the style popularized by Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb and Webb Pierce. But the draw of the big beat was irresistible, and over time the band’s approach has become sharper and tighter. Not self-consciously retro, Delilah remains committed to hand-crafted American music that stands at the crossroads of creativity and craftsmanship, liberally drawing from honky tonk country, rockabilly and surf music

Bandleader Delilah DeWylde (upright bass/lead vocals) is veteran of the West Michigan music scene and an alumna of rockabilly institution DangerVille. Her out-sized stage presence is the centerpiece of the show — one minute singing sweetly, the next slapping her bass into submission.

Next to the sound and fury of Miss Delilah stands cool character Lee Harvey on electric guitar. His serious demeanor on-stage reveals his reverence for the precision and technique of the “original” guitar gods—the likes of Paul Burlison, Billy Byrd, Cliff Gallup, Grady Martin, Dick Dale, Luther Perkins, Scotty Moore and Don Rich.