40 years in and still going strong: Tesla set to rock The Ryman

There are a few things you may not know about the rock band Tesla: The band formed in Sacramento, California, in 1984. The band's name is in honor of the inventor Nikola Tesla. Frontman Jeff Keith is a fan of country music and is honored to get to once again play onstage at the famed Ryman Auditorium.

"I love country," Keith told The Tennessean. "I am a country boy at heart. Country music was a big part of my life growing up. The older-school country like George Jones, Merle Haggard and that kind of stuff."

He said the band has played the Ryman at least twice before and that playing there — especially as a rock band — is special.

"I'll tell you what, when you get up on that stage at The Ryman, it's incredible," he said. "The history of that place ... so many people have poured their hearts out on that stage, so to have a chance to play there is a really big deal."

Unlikely friendship with country music's Bailey Zimmerman

While Keith said he grew up on old-school country, when we asked him who he is listening to now, he said Bailey Zimmerman.

The two met a few years back when Zimmerman and his mom came to a Tesla show. He told Keith that his first concert was Tesla when he was 8.

"We just became really good friends," Keith said. "He is a great, talented young man. My wife and my son and daughter and I just went to his show outside of Sacramento and had so much fun. His band is great, and we just had a blast. Now when we play The Ryman, he is going to come down to the Tesla show."

While Zimmerman isn't expected to get onstage with the band, Keith said there could be a future collaboration.

"Our plan is to someday, it's on our bucket list, to write a song together."

40 years of making music and still going

Tesla formed in 1984 and in 1986 released their debut platinum album "Mechanical Resonance," which included the hits "Modern Day Cowboy" and "Little Suzi." They followed that with 1989's "The Great Radio Controversy," which produced hits such as "Heaven's Trail (No Way Out)" and "Love Song."

It was 1990's "Five Man Acoustical Jam" that was a catalyst to the unplugged movement when many rock bands literally unplugged their electric instruments and played acoustically. This album included the band's biggest single, a cover of Five Man Electrical Band's "Signs."

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While many bands from the '80s didn't survive the grunge movement of the '90s, Tesla kept playing, writing and recording and has released nine new albums since 2000. Keith said the band is eyeing their next record.

"We are still going strong," he said. "We're having fun with it, and it shows. We are still writing songs and plan on making another record, which takes time. Right now we are so busy playing live, we only have time to put out singles here and there."

Did Keith envision when the band formed 40 years ago that it would still be making records and performing live?

"Nope. We had no idea, but that's what it has turned out to be."

If you go

What: Tesla

When: Tuesday

Where: Ryman Auditorium

Tickets: ryman.com

Melonee Hurt covers music and music business at The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK — Tennessee. Reach Melonee at mhurt@tennessean.com, on X @HurtMelonee or Instagram at @MelHurtWrites.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tesla still recording, touring — and enjoying being a band 40 years in