On new album “Love, Dreams, & Foolish Things,” Wilmington band Driskill has successfully blurred genres, leaving their folk sound behind for a mélange of alt-country, soul, gritty rock and gospel. The album — actually two EPs recorded separately in 2017 and 2018 and pulled together — reflect changes the trio has made since their 2016 debut, “Country Blues.”
It’s easy to equate Wilmington’s folk-rock band Driskill to another group of North Carolina’s Americana sons. Ethan Driskill (vocals, guitar, banjo) cites The Avett Brothers’ early years of college touring and unpolished tracks of albums like “Four Thieves Gone” (2006) as a heavy source of inspiration for combining Driskill’s own elements of punk, bluegrass and quick-spitting lyrics.
The early days of 2020 teased a bright future for the folk-rock trio, DRISKILL. Their new single, “Heartache”, was premiered and performed live at the Carolina Country Music Awards to a strong and lively crowd. When the world shut down a few weeks later, the band retreated to writing & recording the next group of songs.
As the process lingered on, the sound began to evolve. The banjo was once a key component in crafting a song, but had now become shelved and traded in for fifty dollar nylon string guitars. New songs were birthed from a time of desolation, and the reverb soaked sounds of the desert were beginning to settle in.
The boys, once known for recording folk-rock anthems in an attic, are bracing for a new journey. Prepare yourself to experience the desert days with DRISKILL.
DRISKILL has shared stages with artists such as: Rayland Baxter, Hiss Golden Messenger, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Lilly Hiatt, No BS! Brass, Christopher Paul Stelling, YARN, Driftwood, & Tyler Ramsey from Band of Horses.
