Beneath the golden stage lights of a Nashville dive bar or beyond a fervent crowd in a Mexico arena, you wouldn’t be able to tell that, after over 15 years on the job, performing live is still guitarist and singer Matt Pelham’s least favorite task as a musician. Along with keyboardist Matt Bond, bassist Roger Dabbs, and drummer Rollum Haas, Pelham delivers The Features’ signature poppy rock n’ roll tunes with a confident fierceness and tireless energy.

“I mean, I like playing live, but it’s probably my least favorite of all the aspects of being in a band,” says Pelham. “I like writing, I like recording, and I like rehearsing, just sort of creating music, more than I like standing in front of people and playing it,” he says.

Pelham is also the Features’ songwriter, known for his boldly personal lyrics, both entertainingly witty and refreshingly honest.

Pelham and Dabbs have been playing together since their middle school days. The two were next-door neighbors in the tiny town of Sparta, Tennessee when they decided to start a band, and continued to play together throughout high school and college. After a few member changes, keyboardist Matt Bond and drummer Rollum Hass found a permanent home in the band in 1993, and what began as a small-town gang of prepubescent musicians became The Features, a band at the height of the Nashville’s emerging indie rock scene.

“We grew up listening to a lot of classic rock and that’s what we ended up playing in high school,” says Pelham, “but when we got to college, we started getting exposed to more alternative music, like Pavement and Pixies. Nirvana had just exploded too and it was a very unique time to be in college and starting a band because music was extremely eclectic at that point and it was way more exciting compared to where it is now in my opinion.”

The Features’ distinctive brand of indie rock combines a throwback to the classic rock age with a modern edge and subtle nods to their Tennessee roots.

It is their varied influences—the Beatles and Led Zeppelin songs they played on repeat as teens, the alternative rock of Camper Van Beethoven, Nirvana, and Neil Young through which they learned to play music, and the bluegrass, country and gospel that surrounded them in Tennessee—that have contributed to the band’s signature sound and allowed them to evade categorization.

“One of the things I’ve always liked about our band is that everyone brings different influences and qualities to the table, so I think our albums end up being a little more eclectic,” says Pelham, “and I feel like most of the bands that I really love have albums that are like that, whether it’s the Kinks, the Stones, or the Beatles. They don’t really stick to one sound, they branch out. Take Lennon and McCartney for example and try to guess their favorite music. I think that would be really hard. They both seem like they were influenced by tons of music. Just listen to The White Album. Where do you pin them as a band? I feel like that’s one of our best qualities. It’s hard to pin us down, and I’m glad for that.”

The Features released their most recent album, Wilderness, in July 2011. On the album, they maintain their eclectic allure. According to Pelham, Wilderness displays a sonic improvement from their previous records.

“We finally captured how we wanted to sound on a recording on this record,” says Pelham.

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Wilderness is the Features’ first release on the Kings of Leon’s record label Serpents and Snakes/Bug Music. These two Tennessee-based bands have maintained a bond since 2004 when they were introduced by their shared soundman. Kings of Leon attended a concert and lauded their performance, asking the Features to join them on their upcoming tour.

Despite Pelham’s lack of affinity for live performances, which he claims is mostly because of the peripatetic and repetitive aspects of touring, he recalls several performances with the Kings of Leon with fondness.

“We’ve been fortunate because we’ve done some ridiculous shows with them,” says Pelham. “We had some opening dates for them in Mexico. We did three dates, all in arenas. We were completely out of our element in an arena, but we had a really good time. The crowds were extremely enthusiastic and we enjoyed ourselves a lot in Mexico, so those [performances] always kind of stand out.”

Pelham doesn’t forget to mention the Features’ smaller shows either, describing the crowd’s energy at the album release party in Nashville for Wilderness.

“That show stands out because it really means a lot when you’ve played in a city as much as we’ve played in Nashville…and people are still interested enough to come see us live,” says Pelham.

Pelham applauds the evolving music scene in Nashville. “When we started out, any time we did interviews and talked to someone about being from this area, and Nashville in particular, it was a shock,” says Pelham, “and that’s changed in the past four to five years, I think mainly because of Kings of Leon. It’s turned into a completely different scene. Nashville’s become a music city again, no longer just known for country music.”

Though the Features have yet to experience a true explosion of success during their long-running career, The Kings of Leon and the emerging indie rock scene in Nashville have helped boost their notoriety as of late.

“Recently it’s been really nice because we’ve been doing our own headlining shows, and we aren’t used to that because for years we’ve been doing mostly support dates for other bands. It feels nice for people to be there and be familiar with what you’re doing and to know that there’s people out there who appreciate what we do.”

Pelham feels the band’s greatest accomplishment in the past 16 years is the fact that they’re still playing together and have managed to remain authentically themselves, despite industry pressures.

“It seems like there’s always someone that’s trying to make you out to be something else, whether it’s more mainstream or more hipster, or whatever,” says Pelham. “It’s like music has turned into a sort of fashion and become less about people trying to create something that is true to themselves.” His bit of wisdom: “do something you like and don’t worry about being a part of the new trend. In the end it’s about pleasing yourself, making music that you like, and doing what you think is good, and if it is, it will stand the test of time.”

The Features play at Maison on Saturday, March 10 with J. Roddy Walston & the Business, David Vandervelde, and Coyotes. The show is free, and is part of the Foburg Festival.