About

Barry, Matt, Scott and Josh

Parmalee is a country rock band hailing from Greenville, North Carolina. The band’s name was derived from the tiny, southern town of Parmele, NC, located a couple miles from their hometown, where they started creating music together in a small barn known as Studio B. Parmalee consists of brothers Matt and Scott Thomas (lead singer/guitarist and drummer, respectively), their cousin Barry Knox (bassist/background vocals) and college friend Josh McSwain (lead guitarist/keyboardist/background vocals). 

Musically, Matt and Scott were influenced by their father, a soul/rock singer who they played with growing up.  Josh had a similar background, growing up surrounded by music, his father having played in a bluegrass band.  Barry started out playing drums (a Christmas present when he was ten), then later switched to bass when he joined his cousins in their band.  Matt, Scott and Barry met Josh who was playing with a different band while all four were enrolled at East Carolina University.  Josh left his band, joined them and Parmalee was born.

The band's bonds were put to the test late one night in September 2010 when Scott was shot and critically injured during a failed robbery attempt in the band's RV after a gig.  The near-tragedy brought out an outpouring of love from fans and fellow musicians who rallied to support Scott and the band.  Despite being gravely wounded, given just a 5% chance of survival, Scott battled back and within months, he was back as the steady backbone of the band.

His first post-recovery performance was a showcase for Stoney Creek Records, who went on to sign the band.  Their first single on SCR, the post-party anthem "Musta Had A Good Time" was a Top 40 hit on country radio.  The song was a huge favorite on SiriusXM "The Highway" sitting at the number one spot for four weeks in a row and also hit #3 on Storme Warren's weekly countdown and #1 on radio station countdowns from coast to coast.  The music video for "Musta Had A Good Time" debuted on the CMT Pure 12-Pack Countdown at #7 and has stayed on the countdown for fifteen straight weeks and counting.

Their follow-up single, "Carolina" is out now and currently climbing the charts.  They've been in the studio recording songs for their first full-length album on Stoney Creek Records, due later in the year. They describe their music as "The Country Side of Rock"...loud guitars, 3 part harmonies, big choruses and a taste of Soul.


Check out the videos below for more on Parmalee: