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Big Country's Empty Bottle formed through casual meetings, performs casual, intimate gigs and is casually accruing a following in Knoxville. The band's laid-back approach can be attributed to the fact that its members are still in college, but upon graduation, the group intends to reach full swing in terms of recording and touring.

The band came together at the urging of, and through introductions by, mutual friends. The project is the first of its kind from the band's members who have previously been affiliated with acts of varying genres, including punk, indie and jam bands, and it is the first musical project ever for vocalist/guitarist Adam Petty. As Big Country's Empty Bottle, the group performs Americana music infused with equal parts bluegrass, country and folk.

"All of the members of Big Country have a very open mind when in comes to music styles which allows for many different sounds to come through," Petty says. "Our songwriting comes from every member in the band. Each member writes music, and then we show it to everyone else and see how it sounds. Our songwriting includes instrumental songs as well as songs with lyrics, and the backgrounds of all of the band members show in our playing. We play Americana songs with blues, jazz and bluegrass overtones. The diversity of the members of the band allows us to manipulate our sound for certain occasions, and we pride ourselves on being able to play a rock show and a mellow acoustic show depending on the setting."

One of Big Country's most distinguishing features is its instrumentation. While the band features an upright bass and mandolin, it lacks a full-time percussionist. Performing primarily acoustically, the group occasionally plugs in and employs guest drummers for its larger shows, the likes of which it has been seeing more and more of this year, having played Loudon's Boombutywah Music and Arts Festival and a WDVX Blue Plate Special performance.

"There was never a formal decision in the band to not have a percussion element," says guitarist/vocalist Sam McAteer. "We originally agreed not to have percussion because we wanted to have more of an authentic bluegrass sound, but we have had a couple guest drummers at previous shows, and we noticed that when we played with a drummer we had a surprisingly good reaction from our audience. Lately we have been contemplating the idea of a drummer in the band, but nothing is set in stone yet. We are an open-minded band that is constantly looking for new people to play with on and off stage. I feel it keeps our musical and artistic juices flowing."

To date Big Country's Empty Bottle's lone recording is a five-song demo of its live WDVX show, and the group has only barely made it outside the Americana Mecca of Knoxville due to its full-time student status. However, the band is content in the meantime to take full advantage of its home base, playing shows of all sizes and venues for which it thoughtfully customizes its sets.

"We plan on recording something more professional over this winter break," McAteer says. "It is hard to find time to record during school semester. We are always writing, and we plan on touring heavily after we graduate from UT. It is our intention to take this band to the next level. It is just difficult to do this during school. It can get kind of overwhelming."

Tuesday night Big Country's Empty Bottle is scheduled to perform at The Stir Fry Cafe in Turkey Creek. This show is free and begins at 8:30. The band will also take the stage at Barley's Taproom on Monday, Nov. 30. This show is scheduled to kick off at 10 p.m.

WORKIN' ON THEIR NIGHT MOVES: Gamenight joins Beaten Awake and Self-Evident for a show at Pilot Light Saturday night. The show is slated for 10 p.m. and admission is $5.

DETH JAMS: Megadeth comes to Knoxville, playing The Valarium Sunday night with Machine Head, Suicide Silence and Arcanium. Tickets are $39.50 in advance or at show time with a $3 surcharge for patrons under the age of 21. Doors open at 6 p.m.