This spring, The Bandit is back, in the Netflix reboot of 1977's iconic Smokey and The Bandit! In the new incarnation, Smokey and the Jambandit, jamband greats were tapped to play out the excitement this time of bootlegging hoppy craft beer from Colorado to Connecticut. In the shadow of the great Burt Reynolds character, The Bandit, played by Goose keyboardist Peter Anspach and his mustache, the outlaw rolls into the Rocky Mountain state to collect his craft beer bounty, only to be met by stubborn Sheriff Buford T. Justice, played by beer aficionado and fellow keyboard legend, Kyle Hollingsworth of The String Cheese Incident, who is never happy to relinquish a great beer, especially the hoppy variety he is so known to enjoy. Mischief ensues along the way, while runaway bride Carrie, played by the versatile Jennifer Hartswick, jumps into the speeding Pontiac Trans Am to spice up the fast-paced cross-country journey in a "total lack of respect for the law!"
Premiering this spring, look for Smokey and the Jambandit on Netflix's new Couch Tour series.
About Kyle Hollingsworth
Thirty years ago, Kyle Hollingsworth set out on a career in music. With a wealth of desire and an abundance of ability, Hollingsworth has established himself as a formidable and versatile music talent deftly able to contribute, collaborate, compose, and communicate on a number of levels and within a vast spectrum of musical environments. Today, as a member of acclaimed jam masters The String Cheese Incident, Hollingsworth is revered by both peers and fans for his ability to write and perform in a mosaic of styles, from rock to classical, ragtime to bebop. Playing in SCI has allowed him unrestricted access to the world of music, and has bestowed on him the kind of fearlessness a composer needs to flirt with such disparate genres. Those who’ve seen SCI know that they can jerk from funk to bluegrass on a chord change. “In the jam world, where there are no set ways of doing things, we’re not afraid to move in and out of genres,” he says, “and because of that I’ve learned to be creative, not only onstage but in the studio. I can get on board with something pretty quickly. You have to.
