Boy Named Banjo – Dusk

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) How would you describe your sound?

A) We’re five guys who grew up in the south and around country music, but we draw inspiration from everywhere. Our sound combines old-school string instruments leading the charge with a more modern, alternative flair from the rhythm section, with some southern rock influence as well.

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

A) The Eagles, The Band, Derrick Trucks, Dawes, Kings of Leon, John Prine, Old Crow Medicine Show

Q) Your debut album Dusk has many emotional songs that many of us find relatable. Was it based on specific experiences in your lives or was there a different story behind it?

A) As simple as it sounds, our songs are often based on the experience of being alive and being human. We try to speak to relatable human experiences that everyone encounters throughout the stages of life. We often write about stories from our own perspective and from the perspective of someone else. Taking a step inside someone else’s shoes to see the world through their eyes helps us connect with the world and people around us on a deeper level.

Q) I noticed that you all take turns working on the songs (not all of you work on each song). How do you decide who collaborates on each song?

A) We actually all collaborate evenly on all the songs to get our parts. For writing, Barton [Davies] and William [Reames] write with lots of different people, but there’s not always a rhyme or reason as to who we pick for a given song or who we choose as a co-writer. We try to draw inspiration from the different people we write with and choose the songs that are best for the album.

Q) “What Keeps Me Going” is such a great song. What was the inspiration behind it?

A) “What Keeps Me Going” is one that we wrote with our friend Pat McLaughlin who is a legendary songwriter. I think it was the middle of the pandemic and we had just started writing with other people again and we were talking about what keeps us going through strange and challenging times like a pandemic. We were talking about how being in nature and with people you love and all the other little things that really make life special and keep us going through the good and the bad times.

Q) Filming the music video at the farm was such a beautiful way to incorporate your life into the song. Do you plan on adding more personal touches to future projects?

A) Yes, we certainly plan on adding more personal touches on future projects. We grew up going out to William’s farm and making music out there in the early stages of the band, so it was a real full-circle moment to film the video out there. The plan is to keep finding spots like that that are important to all of us as a band and emphasize how our sound is tied to these certain places that played a role in our lives.

Q) “Heart Attack” was another incredible song that you recently released. Did you expect to get such an amazing response to it?

A) This is a song where we went into the studio with a mission to write a big song. We all got very excited when we finished the song, and instantly could feel that it was something special. We knew we had a crowd favorite on our hands when we left the studio that day. When you know, you know!

Q) “Feel For You” has such relatable lyrics. What have fans been reaching out to tell you about how they connect with the track?

A) “Feel For You” is our most popular song so people resonate with it in that way, and we’ve received a lot of texts from people saying they used “Feel For You” as their first dance at their wedding and telling stories about how they saw our show on a date and it became “their song” after that. The song comes from a place of falling in love and it’s so special to hear stories about the song becoming a part of other people’s love lives and relationships. William and I wrote this song while we were dating our now wives, taking those first steps of falling in love, so it definitely resonates with people who are falling in love.

Q) You recently appeared at the Grand Ole Opry. Tell us about the experience.

A) It was a whirlwind of a day. Your first time at the Opry is a special moment. The day was jam-packed with photos and interviews and we were running around all over the place. Funny enough, the only part of the day that felt calm, normal, and at home was when we stepped on stage. It was a beautiful experience, and something none of us really ever imagined we would have the chance to do, but when we were up there it was pure magic. It was also really special getting to have all of our families there at the show in Nashville to support us and be there for that special moment.

Q) While on tour, you got to work with artists such as Ashley McBryde and Hank Williams Jr. Who are some people you would love to collaborate with on a song in the future?

A) Brothers Osborne and Kings of Leon have been dream collabs for us. It’s pretty cool that Post Malone is dipping his toes in the country world recently – collabing with him or other artists outside of the traditional country genre would be awesome. Having a female vocal collab would be great for some of our more love songs. Collabs with Hailey Whitters or Bella White would be awesome.

Q) What would you like to say to fans and supporters of you and the incredible music that you make?

A) Thank you for continuing to come out and see us on the road. We can’t do this without y’all so thank you for making it possible!