Rounding out my week on actors who moonlight as musicians is a band that has put more effort into this than all the rest combined. The Bacon Brothers, fronted by Kevin Bacon and his brother Michael, have been recording and touring since 1997 and have released 10 albums during that span.
Reading through the Bacon Brothers appearance schedule over the last 25 years, you have to wonder if Kevin doesn’t see this as his day job and consider his acting a little work he does on the side.
The duo, who are backed by a quartet of musicians most of whom have been with them from the start, write and perform folk rock and country rock tunes. Kevin is the principal songwriter and lead vocalist on the tracks I’ve heard.
The Bacon Brothers feel an awful lot like a 90s alt-rock band that has maintained a big enough following to record and tour for two and a half decades. I suppose that’s what they are. Would they have been able to manage that without being fronted by Kevin Bacon? Who can say?
She says it feels a lot more like July
And tonight she’s just over
Lie after lie after lie
She puts on my tom petty t-shirt
She lets a tear fall over her heart
She says something about a missing bandanna
And a world torn apart
I don’t think there’s tools in my toolbox
To fix this shattered work of art
But she can have my tom petty t-shirt
With tear stains on the her heart
She says this feeling is familiar
Seems like I’ve cried these tears before
Just as old as those old t-shirt
In the bottom of your drawer
She puts on my tom petty t-shirt
And lets a tear fall over her heart
Says, I never thought that this life would be easy
But does it need to be this hard?
I don’t think there’s tools in my toolbox
To fix this shattered work of art
She can have my tom petty t-shirt
With tear stains on the heart
Doesn’t want to hear from family
Sometimes it’s ok to run and hide
Just sit and watch the night fall on the big sky
Of the upper west side
She takes off my tom petty t-shirt
And I gaze on this wounded work of art
Then she wraps me in her body like a blanket
And we get heart to heart
Making love won’t make it all feel better
But it’s as good as any place to start
And she can’t keep my tom petty t-shirt
With tear stains on the heart
Yeah she can’t keep my tom petty t-shirt
With tear stains on the heart
Meet Me In Montauk 
I’m not sure if the Bacon Brothers would have been able to sustain this long with a relatively low level of popularity or commercial success, but it must be nice for them to do what they want to do without the burden of having to put food on the table.
I am such a huge fan of Kevin Bacon! Wonderful that he is so successful as an actor and a musician ❤️
I adore Kevin Bacon and made a point to listen to his music in the early decades. 🙂 More recently I follow him on Instagram, where he was a joy during the quarantine. He sings and dances (often with his wife Kyra) and play blues songs each Monday. It’s all pretty wonderful.