Most people probably don’t associate the South with progressive values, but Trae Crowder and his Liberal Redneck crew hope to change that perception.
The Tennessee-born comic along with his pals Corey Forrester and Boston College alum Drew Morgan are bringing their “WellRED” comedy tour to the Wilbur Theatre on Friday night. The Southern-based, stand-up trio has been making waves since the release of their book “The Liberal Redneck Manifesto,” which tries to combat the South’s right-wing reputation.
Ahead of this weekend’s show, we asked Crowder to break down some Southern misconceptions, as well as New England’s version of rednecks.
What does it mean to be a liberal redneck?
The three of us are progressive, Southern guys, but also progressive, Southern comedians. To some people, that sounds like an oxymoron, but it’s really not. Basically, we sound like the Blue Collar comedy guys, but the things we say and believe are the exact opposite of what a lot people would expect guys like us would say and think. It makes for some entertaining moments.
What are some misconceptions Boston liberals have of the South?
People in the coastal areas, because they look at an electoral map or whatever and see that sea of red, there’s misconception that the vast majority of people in the South all think the same thing and vote the same way, and that’s not at all true. People say to me all the time, “You’re like a unicorn.” I always try to tell them I’m really not. Am I in the minority where I come from? Yes. But I know plenty of other people who are like me.
Can you be a redneck and be from New England?
When most people think of a redneck, the type of person that they think of, those people exist all over the country, for sure. I’ve seen it. There are people that, by any other name, would be a redneck in Oregon, California or whatever. For example, we were in Vermont, New England, and I never heard this before, but the people at the show told us that up there, their equivalent of rednecks, they call them woodchucks.
Does the constant barrage of news coming out of the White House make your job harder?
Yeah, it can be tough to keep up with at times. Another thing that makes it hard, when things are as ridiculous as they are right now, especially when it comes to the White House and all that, a lot of people think that it would make a comedian’s job easier with somebody like Trump in office, but that’s really kind of not true. The man is a parody of himself. It’s hard to even know what to say or where to go from what the reality is. It’s hard to be more ridiculous than what is actually happening.
If you go:
Sept. 8, 7:30 p.m., Wilbur Theatre, 246 Tremont St., thewilbur.com
