Masen Cheeks is a musician from Dayton Tennessee. Musically, he is best known for leading Masen and the Old Folks with Audrey Burton, Larry Burton, and Glen Long, and his solo career. Masen Cheeks was born on June 5th, 2002 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The Rockin' Pickers (2012-2013)[]
The Rockin' Pickers were formed in late 2012 by Masen Cheeks, Kade Vincent, Dylan Westondorf, and Jared Leffew, and was mostly a cover band. The band underwent many lineup changes, and was never stable. The band is most notable for being Masen's first band. The Pickers broke up in August 2013 due to Masen's commitment to Masen and the Old Folks. A reunion of the band's original lineup has been discussed constantly, but never confirmed.
AK Band (2013, 2015)[]
The AK Band, consisting of Masen Cheeks, Dallas Messimer, and Gavin Curtin, was Masen's first "side project" and was the first time he worked with Gavin Curtin. The band released 3 covers of Black Sabbath's Iron Man, first in 2013, then a rerecording later that year without Curtin, then a reunion in February 2015. The band attempted to reunite in 2014, with Brandon Miles taking Curtin's place, but this fell apart. Cheeks has confirmed that the "AK" in the band's name stood for "All Kids."
Masen and the Old Folks (2013-2014, 2015)[]
The first successful band Masen played in was Masen and the Old Folks, originally named Road Rage and the Tailgaters, and later Paradise Cave. The band was formed in 2013 by Masen Cheeks, Audrey Burton, Glen Long, and Larry Burton, releasing a cover of Move it on Over. Later, the band released original songs such as BDRD and Time Machine later in 2013. Following the release of Time Machine, the band began playing live shows nearly every day, but following the last show of the initial concerts in April 2014, the band began writing new songs, but tensions were rising between bandmates Masen Cheeks and Glen Long. Glen was fired from the band that fall, and the band continued. In November, Masen Cheeks released his first solo song, and announced that the Old Folks would break up, releasing remakes of their original songs, and two new ones, Coffee Can Man and Country Boy, throughout the coming weeks, The band had broken up in 2014, but consistent releases continued until the release of Masen's second solo single, Hypnotized, in February 2015. In May 2015, Masen had a solo concert planned for a charity benefit, but instead used it to reunite the original Masen and the Old Folks lineup for a final reunion and farewell concert. The band planned to reunite in 2017, but since then, two of the original members of the band have passed away.
Solo Project (2014-)[]
Masen released a cover of Hank III's Thrown out of the Bar in late 2014, announcing the end of Masen and the Old Folks with it. In February 2015, Masen released "Hypnotized," announcing a solo EP along with it, co-written by Gavin Curtin. The duo later released "Reality," a song that included Larry Burton on percussion. Also released was "Wild Child," a punk rock song, "Just a Sign," a ballad co-written by Audrey Burton, and a cover of the Fables classic "Will the Real Broken Heart Stand Up?". The album released on June 5th, 2016 to poor reviews, so it was never promoted with a tour.
In May 2017, Masen and the Old Folks intended to reunite. When that was no longer possible, Gavin Curtin and Masen Cheeks used the studio space to create "The Rise of the Shady King," "Side Man,' and "Feeling in my Bones," three songs that relaunched Masen's music career. Later in 2017, Cheeks released the Dollar General Rap, which became his most popular song for a months. In June 2018, One Second was released, and in October, the Fall of the Shady King. Since November 2018, Cheeks has consistently released music, such as Free Mike Ledbetter, Kickball Khronicles, When I'm Cloud, Mind Scars, and Hot Wheels.