Legendary Shack Shakers took over Main Street at DG’s Taphouse on Nov. 15.

The show started at 9 p.m., but dedicated fans and family members filled the bar early in the evening waiting for the bands to take the stage.

The Southern Gothic rock band originates from Nashville, Tennessee, and Paducah, Kentucky. The group is coming up on 20 years and is still going strong, with tour dates going into mid-December of this year.

The group brought a presence to the stage that was explosive. J.D. Wilkes, the founder and extreme front man for the group, is insanely in tune with the crowd and likes to keep every member of the audience on their feet.

“They come out to see the band play. It’s all about the performance,” Wilkes said.

Wilkes also said that with all of the time spent on the road and just sitting around in the bus, he loves to give each performance his all, getting as much exercise as possible. This gives reasoning to his insane stage antics that gets the crowd amped.

Wilkes will use most anything as a prop and changes it up throughout the whole set. He plays harmonica and alternates between a regular and a throat microphone, which he uses to muddle his words for a unique effect.

Other band members include drummer Brett Whitacre, guitarist Rod Hamdallah and upright bassist Mark Robertson. 

Robertson said Ames is a really friendly town and Wilkes agreed.

“The people are ‘Iowa Nice.’ They like to dance, they like to keep their hearts pumping and stay warm in the cold winter months,” Wilkes said.

The snowstorm that came through Nov. 15 impacted the turnout minimally.

The openers for the show included Rumble Seat Riot, a Rockabilly band based in Des Moines and Aaron Lee Tasjan, a singer-songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee. 

The crowd was ready to go when Rumble Seat Riot took the stage and the intensity of the night grew from there.

Members include vocalist and guitarist Gene Senn, guitarist Matthew James, vocalist and upright bassist Larry Kaster and vocalist and drummer Butchie Spekter.

Tasjan surprised the crowd with a stage presence that would be thought to be unbelievable coming from only one person. The one-man band kept everyone in the crowd up and going between Rumble Seat Riot and Legendary Shack Shakers.

“It’s a really friendly town. The people treat us good,” said Robertson, “We love it.”