During the 1960s and early 70s, Hickory was at the center of a flourishing music scene. A number of venues in town booked talent to perform, both local and regional. One night, both Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Marshall Tucker Band played gigs in Hickory.
Opening for Ronnie Van Zant the boys from Gainesville, Florida that evening was an outfit composed of local musicians. The band was Southern Burden.
In Hickory, numerous venues booked bands. Places like Eli’s Underground, the American Warehouse, Fast Company, Reflections, LTD, the Rusty Nail and others attracted music lovers every weekend with a slate of groups, some on the verge of national stardom.
Among the members of Southern Burden was Mike Caldwell and Steve Sigmon. School friends, both grew up with music. Mike was from a family of musicians. He remembered he “didn’t start playing until I was 18” when his dad bought him a good guitar and his mom taught him enough chords to get him going. Steve sang in the church choir from the time he was six-years-old. He got into rock’n’roll like many of his generation, after hearing the Beatles, “which were a big influence,” he said. During Steve’s senior year at St. Stephens, they continued a group started the year before by Roy Hoffman and began playing assemblies, covering tunes by Jimi Hendrix and Three Dog Night.
Photo: Southern Burden in 1975. Mike Caldwell (left) and Steve Sigmon (right) are two of three surviving members. (Image courtesy of the Hickory Daily Record)
From that, the guy who coordinated student magazine sales (as a fundraiser for the school) offered them an out-of-town gig, which they took. The band became a five-piece with two guitars, bass, drums and a singer. They christened themselves Southern Burden.
Steve credited the name as their attempt to both pay homage and move past the sub-genre known as Southern Rock. Even though groups like the Allman Brothers, Wet Willie (who also played in Hickory), and the Atlanta Rhythm Section were selling millions of albums, the “burden” of this southern band was to also play music by such non-southern artists like Carlos Santana, Alice Cooper and acts that we now label “classic” rock. Mike and Steve wanted to expand their set list.
Southern Burden gained a following as the sixties became the seventies. Then, Steve went into the military. After a two year stint, he rejoined his fellow band mates and they began performing original material, still with fans throughout the area. Their 1973 performance at the Alexander County Fair was filled with teenagers who “packed the bleachers.” One observed described the night this way. “The music was so loud that the Kiwanis Club game table located in the same pavilion, was forced to be closed for the evening, but the audience seemed to like it that way.”
In 1975, they were asked to play a benefit for “medical needs” through Good Shepard Lutheran Church. Now a four-piece, the guys performed a two hour show at P.E. Monroe Auditorium on the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne. The next week, they were part of an all day “Rock Festival at Sunrise Beach” (between Hickory and Statesville) where they were one of “5 Big Bands to BLOW YOUR MIND.” The advertisement suggested that ticket holders “bring your own Special refreshments,” to help with the mind blowing.
As with most, (perhaps the Rolling Stones are an exception) the band broke up. Mike remained a working musician, organizing a tremendously popular “jam night” at Fast Company, making contacts and playing with lots of other musicians. He is still a working musician today, having played with big names in the business. He still gets together with friends, playing at the Stump in Mountain View on Wednesday nights. Check them out.
Steve and the other members of the band followed different pursuits. But in their time, they were one of the best bands in the region, part of a rich musical talent in and around Hickory.
