Submitted photoNashville quartet Cumberland Run will play two shows in Lauderdale County this week. Band members include Ben Greene, Meridian native Alex Goldman, Thomas Hassell, Sam VanFossen and Jonathan Warren.

Fans of uptempo country music have the chance to catch a Nashville quintet when the group comes to Lauderdale County this week.

Cumberland Run, whose lead singer, Alex Goldman, is from Meridian, is scheduled to make two stops in the area Friday and Sunday.

The first show will be 5:30 p.m. Friday at Gigi’s Place in Toomsuba, while the second show is set for 5 p.m. Sunday at Kayak Cove at Dalewood Shores Lake. Both shows are free.

Goldman says Sunday’s event started five years ago as a small gathering for family and friends. Now, attendees tie their boats together, filling the lake for the concert.

“It’s a unique experience to go see a concert on lake,” Goldman said. “Because, at a lot of shows, people are on their phones or distracted. This one’s all about being in the sun and having a good time and getting to float around with your friends.”

The young musician, who “grew up singing in the church choir,” got into country music while in high school at Lamar. He met the other members of the band (Jonathan Warren on fiddle and vocals, guitarist and singer Sam VanFossen, bassist Ben Greene and drummer Thomas Hassell, who also sings) while studying music at Belmont University in Nashville.

Now, about six years later, the band stays busy paying its dues in clubs around Nashville and touring on the college circuit.

Starting out, the group played cover songs, but eventually started sneaking original music into their sets. Their new single references a landmark familiar to Meridianites – the Dentzel Carousel.

“Growing up, I had a lot of birthday parties or different events at the Dentzel Carousel,” Goldman recalls. “So I wanted to do something with it, because it’s got a special place in my heart. One time, I was watching the people go away and come back, go away and come back…that’s very symbolic of a small town. Different people you meet through the years, or even relationships. So that’s where that song came from.”

Although the band’s influences run the gamut from Johnny Cash to Led Zeppelin to the Goo Goo Dolls, Goldman says their style is one thing: high energy.

“One of our things is, playing in downtown Nashville, we have to bring the energy the whole time – all four hours with no breaks,” Goldman said. “So that’s gotten to be a big part of our music – energetic country – rock, with maybe a little bit of ‘90s flavor mixed in as well.”

“Everybody’s got their own flavor they bring,” Goldman added. “It definitely helps a lot to have all these influences, because everybody’s coming at it from a different angle.”