Jumping The Gun: A Band to Keep an Eye On

Jumping The Gun performing at the Handlebar in Pensacola

One doesn’t have to travel to the music meccas of New York, Los Angeles, or Nashville to come across great music. Every region of the country has their own set of talented artists and bands. There are hundreds that are just one song, one break away from making it big. The Florida Panhandle is home to a music scene full of great musical acts, but my favourite and the one I think is just waiting to explode is Jumping The Gun.

The band is fronted by singer/guitarist/songwriter Hannah Mahute along with Drummer Brian Blackwell, Bassist Howard Wallace, and Guitarist Tyler Suggs. The band released their debut EP Chasing Tales in 2018, followed by the studio album Behind The 8 Ball in 2019. In 2021 they released another EP Welcome to the Show. 2023 saw the band releasing a string of singles and videos, “Bite My Tongue“, “Bad Behavior“, “Better in a Straight Jacket“, “Made of Gold“, and “Talking With the Devil” leading up to the release of their latest EP, Bad Behavior.

I have had the honour of photographing some great artists over the last year including Taylor Swift, My Chemical Romance, Shinedown, Imagine Dragons, and Sleeping With Sirens but as excited as I was to shoot these acts, I was just as excited to shoot Jumping The Gun. They had been on my list but the timing never seemed to work. The stars finally aligned and I was able to catch the band live opening for Shehehe on July 8th at The Handlebar in Pensacola, FL.

There is sometimes the tendency to compare a musical artist to someone else which isn’t necessarily fair to them. However, falling into this trap I would compare Mahute’s vocals as a cross between Letters to Cleo’s Kay Hanley and Dolores O’Riordan from the Cranberries with the appearance of Haley Williams from Paramore. These would all seem to bode well for future success.

I was interested in whether or not the band’s music would translate to a live environment. Not surprisingly there was very little drop-off in their performance. Mahute was just as dynamic in person as on her recordings with the same sassiness coming out allowing her to connect with the small but appreciative audience. The addition of new guitarist Tyler Suggs provides Mahute with the freedom to set aside her guitar, take mic in hand and roam the stage. This is where she is at her best, being the front person, strutting around, letting out her raw emotion and energy.

Jumping The Gun’s set was way too short but such are the woes of being an opening act. The band was only able to perform eight songs with an emphasis on their new EP, Bad Behavior. Even with this small sample size Jumping The Gun showed they are a band to keep an eye in the future.