There aren’t a ton of great bands, especially great grunge bands, that have come out of Mississippi. Other than being hard to spell, the state is more known for Bluegrass and Country music than anything else.

But three native Mississippians threw tradition to the wind when they decided to create the group, 3 Doors Down. While they’d likely been raised on Country and Bluegrass music, the three were more inspired by ’90s grunge bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains.

While they’re technically categorized as “post-grunge” due to the fact that they didn’t put out grunge music until the year 2000, they’re still a favorite in the grunge genre, today.

A Broken Sign and a Biloxi Station: Making the Band

When you’re from a small town in Mississippi, like Escatawpa, there’s not much to do in high school other than play sports or form a band. And in 1994, that’s just what Brad Arnold, Matt Roberts, and Todd Harnell did.

They started out playing humble shows like yard parties and small events. They didn’t have a name until they passed a broken sign in Alabama, that read “doors down” – or that’s how the legend has it.

The three comes from how many members the band has, which makes sense. But how did they get out of people’s backyards and onto the radio? The WCPR station in Biloxi, Mississippi, took a chance on them and helped them form a fan base.

From Local to Loco Success

With their local fanbase secured, their performances started pulling bigger and bigger crowds. Finally, they managed to book venues outside of the south – like in NYC. Their NYC shows interested Republic Records, who signed the band in 2000. It’s been quite a ride for the three friends (though they’ve added Chris Henderson since forming) in a short amount of time.