Amherst County native Musician 1st Class Caleb Cox returned home to Roanoke, Virginia, Wednesday, Sept. 7, in his new role as a lead vocalist with the U.S. Navy Band Country Current. Cox was selected for the rare vacancy in the Navy’s only country/bluegrass ensemble after a competitive audition in November 2021. Like all Navy enlisted Sailors must do, Cox graduated from Navy boot camp in August 2022, arriving in Washington, D.C., headquarters of the U.S. Navy Band, just three weeks before the start of Country Current’s 2022 national tour. Audience members can still hear Country Current on tour in Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia through Sept. 14. Concert details can be found online at: www.navyband.navy.mil/events/t
The oldest of six children, Cox was born in Bedford County, Virginia, and moved to Amherst County at the age of three. He began playing guitar and singing at the age of seven with local bands, including his family band, and established a name for himself in the region as a prominent artist in the country and bluegrass tradition. Scores of friends and family came to hear their hometown celebrity perform at Elmwood Park in Roanoke, Virginia, the band’s 2022 national tour debut concert.
Country Current is nationally renowned for its versatility and musicianship, performing a blend of modern country music and cutting-edge bluegrass. This seven-member ensemble employs musicians from diverse backgrounds with extensive high-profile recording and touring experience in the music scenes of Nashville, New York, New Orleans and more. In the tradition of country music, each member is a skilled performer on multiple instruments.
One of the U.S. Navy Band’s core responsibilities involves touring the country. All of the band’s primary performing units embark each year on concert tours throughout specified regions of the country, allowing the band to reach out to audiences in areas of the country that do not have opportunities to see the Navy’s premier musical ensembles on a regular basis.