Paying the Rent

R549 is a country band that re-invented itself nearly three years ago by going back to its roots—those being Lower Broadway in Nashville, the alternative to the commercialized Music Row. Robert’s Western World is where the band members got their start in the mid-1990s. These were a bunch of guys who enjoyed revitalizing Traditional Country tunes, every Wednesday through Saturday, just for tips. They called themselves BR5-49 (with the dash) after Junior Samples’ ever-flubbed phone number