The Jompson Brothers aren’t what one would expect.

The Jompson Brothers showcased several surprises at its show last night, blending blues and rock in clever, contemporary ways. ROBYN JOHNSON/Staff

With front man Chris Stapleton having a background in Nashville, writing hit songs for country artists and a prior stint in bluegrass, hearing a Zeppelin-esque sound is not what one would anticipate.

But it was, and the small Caledonia crowd at the band’s show last night liked what it saw.

The Tennessee group didn’t go on until the battle for Tuscaloosa was over, leaving opening acts Chris McKay & the Critical Darlings and Josh Roberts and the Hinges to brave the television-free establishment.

But after midnight, all the attention was focused on the Brothers.

The group is an abundance of things but what sticks out the most is the lack of country.

Yet it makes sense: if the crowd was unfamiliar with the band’s starting up and history, there would be no way of knowing why country could play a role.

Immediately, the lyrics were powerful and the music was like a storm, with guitarist Greg McKee wailing on his Gibson the entire night, delivering one impressive solo after the other.

But it wasn’t like we were at an actual show.

There wasn’t that much interaction with the crowd, nor much talking.

It almost seemed like a practice for the band, except 30 people watched from the front as it brought down the roof.

The band would play a song, re-tune its instruments a little, say one or two things and go back to playing.

But it worked, and people didn’t seem to mind.

Then a thought came to me as Stapleton did a balance of singing and slightly yelling:

The Jompson Brothers are what hard rock of today is supposed to sound like.

The product isn’t corporate, it isn’t lazy in its production and everything fits where it’s supposed to — which means slightly basic rhythms over powerful vocals and emotional lead guitars and drums clashing hard but remaining in time with the prolific, near visual lyrics.

What had been missing was the blues style of rock that made the classic bands so great. Stapleton had that: he sang with not only emotion, but with a pain that nearly struck a nerve.

Yeah, this band is for real. I got it, and it was easy to see that the crowd did as well.

It took a country songwriter to find the true sound of rock ‘n’ roll in today’s music, and he certainly did.

Let’s just hope the next time the Jompson Brothers play, the game of the century is not going on.