The name Wayne Mills might not bring anything to mind at first reference, but an incident resulting in the country performer's death this week has made his story one of the most relevant on the country newswire this week.
Mills, frontman for his own Wayne Mills Band, was at the Pit and Barrel Bar Saturday morning in downtown Nashville when an argument reportedly broke out between himself and the owner of the establishment, Chris Ferrell. Ferrell claims that Mills became angry when the owner confronted him about smoking in the building, and the altercation ended with Ferrell shooting the guitarist. Mills was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he passed away. Police have stated that they're investigating Ferrell's claims that the shooting was in self-defense, but he isn't incarcerated for the time being.
Mills and his band toured in the surrounding states, often playing a blend of "outlaw/southern rock" style country music (according to its website) at the local colleges. The group's music unto itself isn't noteworthy, but a few of the names that toured as openers for the group in the past might ring a few bells, including Blake Shelton, Jamey Johnson and Taylor Hicks. Shelton tweeted a memoriam to Mills on Sunday.
"Extremely sad to hear about the death of my old friend Wayne Mills," he tweeted.
The Pit and Barrell, oddly enough, was scheduled to appear Sunday night on Bar Rescue, a Spike TV reality program where dilapidated drinking spots receive makeovers. The network opted to run a rerun rather than the scheduled episode.
We don't want to speculate on the police force's final findings, but it is interesting to find out how one person can have a profound impact on so many careers, and a shame that the public doesn't find out about it until too late.
