After the Reign

After The Reign is a six piece country music group consisting of Willie Kelly (Lead Vocals), John Strevens (Lead/Rhythm Guitar, Background/Lead Vocals), Bob Grado (Steel Guitar), Clay Perlman (Lead/Rhythm Guitar), Dave Hurley (Bass), and John Carretta (Drums). They formed in Monmouth County NJ in 2006, although various members have played together in other bands for over 10 years. The band currently divides it's time between New Jersey and Nashville TN, but perform shows all over the country. They play a large repertoire of their own material written mainly by head songwriter Strevens, but also include collaborations with Kelly. 2010 saw the independent release of their debut album "Hillbilly Clubhouse" to critic’s raves with the title track receiving airplay both nationally and internationally. In 2012 "Burning Down The Farm" the 2nd single from that album stayed on the Music Row Charts for 32 weeks hitting #72. The single was also included on the Sony Music distributed compilation CD "Country Mix USA" pairing them alongside other country artists Craig Morgan, Due West, and Sammy Kershaw. Early 2013 the band participated in the Hard Rock Cafe's Hard Rock Rising competition, which was a worldwide battle of the bands that started with over 12.000 bands around the world. After The Reign won the New York City market, in which they represented the area in the competition. Over-all they ranked in the top 20 of the 12,000 bands. They released their sophomore album "Almost Famous" in the summer of 2013, produced by Marc Muller, mixed by Billy Decker, and mastered by Richard Dodd. Their single "Jersey Strong" featured on their second album has been named the official anthem of New Jersey by the organization Strong Than The Storm and was a feature point on Discovery's Destination American Red, White and You. It has put them in the national media spotlight, in which they completed a media tour in support of the song. In 2014 the band suffered a setback with the sudden death of longtime drummer Herb Van Note. For a moment the band was unsure if it could continue, but with the help of replacement drummer Greg Annunziata the band hit the road again in April. By the year’s end they will have clocked in over 75 shows. 2014 also saw the band doing repeat shows with Sara Evans and Phil Vassar, plus performing with The Swon Brothers. 2014-2015 the band performed headlining theater shows in New Jersey and Virginia. In 2016 After The Reign was named a top 10 Best Bar Band At the Jersey Shore by 105.7 The Hawk's fan voted competition. In late 2016, drummer Greg Annunziata announced his departure from the band. Through the end of 2016 into 2017 the band searched for a new drummer. In February 2017 ATR welcomed John Carretta as the band's new drummer. The band also renewed their contract with Bar Anticipation for the 2017 year for the fifth year in a row. The band’s lead songwriter John Strevens secured a publishing deal and the band is currently working on two new albums simultaneously, "Born Cool" and a retro Bakersfield sounding "Throwback Thursday". Plans are underway for the band to do a nationwide theater tour in 2015. After The Reign has performed shows with: Tim McGraw, Lady Antebellum, Sara Evans, Rodney Atkins, Lee Brice, James Wesley, Montgomery Gentry, Josh Thompson, Kix Brooks, Craig Morgan, Steel Magnolias, Steve Azar, Love and Theft, Trent Tomlinson, Daryl Worley and Bruce Springsteen to name a few. When headlining their own shows the band is known for its 3 plus hours nonstop high energy set.