by DAVID HAMILTON

NATCHEZ — Homegrown Southern Rock band Bishop Gunn will perform at 7 p.m. today at Smoot’s Grocery on Broadway Street.

The band’s mission statement is simple: “Carry the flag for Natchez.”

“We’ve been working on this since about mid-May, and we knew we knew we wanted to make it a really cool event for the whole community,” drummer Burne Sharp said. “Not just a Bishop Gunn show, but more to help to fuel the original music scene in Natchez.”

Named after John Edward Gunn — the Catholic Bishop of Natchez in the early 1900s — the band roots itself in Natchez and has developed an avid following in the city.

“The support has been overwhelming,” bassist Ben Lewis said.  “It just continues to grow. So many people are getting on board.”

Lewis is a recent addition to Bishop Gunn, joining the band in February. Having known members of the band for years, Lewis said his transition into the band was smooth.

“When they were looking for a bassist … it all just kind of fell right into place,” Lewis said.

The band expects to draw not just locals, but people from all over to tonight’s concert.

“We know people driving over 10 hours and flying in from Canada for this,” McCready said.

While the band will perform indoors, Sharp said Broadway Street and High Street will be blocked off, with a projector and sound system placed outside so attendees can enjoy the concert outdoors as well.

“There will also be couches and tables in the street,” Sharp said. “We’re taking everything that’s inside Smoot’s and putting it in the street.”

Since last year’s concert in Natchez — also held at Smoot’s Grocery—Bishop Gunn has undergone some transformation.

The band recently moved to Leiper’s Fork, a village that lies about 45 minutes outside Nashville.

Within the secluded village, the band members have no access to television, Internet, or cell phone service. This way, Bishop Gunn is not distracted from its one, main focus.

“There’s nothing to be done there but play music,” front man Travis McCready said. “In that environment we’ve grown a lot.”

Additionally, Bishop Gunn found out its not the only big act in town after the move to Leiper’s Fork. McCready compared the area to pro-football training camp.

“All the best players are around you all the time,” McCready said. “There’s always somebody so much better than you.”

The band grew in maturity at Leiper’s Fork, but it also gained another new member there.  Sharp recalled seeing Drew Smithers, now Bishop Gunn’s guitarist, performing outside of a small antiques shop in the village for a group of four people.

“He was that good doing that gig, I was just like, ‘We have to talk to this guy,’” Sharp said.

Smithers, who was involved in eight different music projects at the time, said he has enjoyed contributing to Bishop Gunn’s success.

“It’s been a lot of fun working with these guys,” Smithers said.

The band members agree that the move to Leiper’s Fork has paid dividends.

In just its third year of existence, the band has already had great success on the main stage.

In April, the band appeared on Kid Rock’s Chillin’ the Most Cruise. The event proved to be a huge success for the group.

Even as a last-minute entry into the cruise’s 16-artist lineup, Bishop Gunn made its mark.

“They took an exit poll, and we were voted the best band on the boat,” front man McCready said.

McCready also said only Kid Rock himself outsold the band in merchandise.

After the cruise, the band went on to do commercial film for Southern Comfort in Clarksdale.

While the band describes themselves as Southern Rock for simplicity’s sake, Bishop Gunn combines a number of different elements to create a distinct sound.

McCready said he considers himself a soul singer as much as rock ’n‘ roll.

No matter how the band is categorized, the members strive for a sound that harkens back to a southern style of rock ’n‘ roll that the group aims to resurrect.

The band tentatively aims to release its first full-length album in August or September.

“If you were to think of a musician’s viewpoint being from Natchez, growing up here and then touring leaving … it kind of circles around that,” Sharp said.

Sharp called it the band’s “duty” to represent Natchez in this album.

“This town made us musicians and the people that we are,” Sharp said.

The album will feature 12 tracks, seven of which were written solely by McCready, four co-written and one written by Lewis.

In addition to releasing the album, Bishop Gunn will also play at Pilgrimage Festival in Nashville on Sept. 24. Justin Timberlake and Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder are the headliners for the festival.

The band members are ambitious, setting no ceiling for how much success they think they can achieve.

“We want to take this all the way,” Sharp said.

Bishop Gunn plans to eventually tour internationally, where members said they would continue to spread the word about Natchez.

“Wherever we go, whether it be Europe or wherever, we want to help spread the word, the history, the culture and ultimately get people to come here,” Sharp said. “We want to do that all over.”

But before they do that, fans will be able to enjoy “high-energy, physical rock ’n‘ roll” right here in Natchez at tonight’s concert.