Vocalist, performer, songwriter Adam Sherman was the voice of A&M recording artists Private Lightning, lead singer and songwriter of The Souls and member of The Nervous Eaters. He has been nominated for six Boston Music Awards. Songbird, River of Dreams and Triangle Sky are Adam’s critically acclaimed full-length solo albums. He performs regularly with the Adam Sherman Band.

Adam’s song “Don’t Need to Make You Mine” performed by The Nervous Eaters was “Coolest Song In the World This Week” on Little Steven’s Underground Garage for the last week of April 2024.

International Acoustic Music Award winner, Robert Thomas has crafted songs for legends including, Kenny Rogers, Bonnie Raitt, Joe Cocker and the Dixie Chicks. As a staff writer for music publishing, Thomas was tasked with writing hits and his diverse repertoire reflects that. He writes songs we can all connect with – memorable sing along melodies, clever, ear friendly lyrics couched in an array of rhythms – all introduced with a captivating, often humorous, repartee that is a throwback to the story telling era of Mark Twain, Garrison Keillor and Stuart Maclean. Accompanied on fiddle, mandolin, guitar, keyboards and percussion by the legendary “sessionmen” – Ray Legere and Jon Arsenault- whose credits in their own right include, Alison Krauss, Rita MacNeil, Doc Watson, Tony Rice and The Chieftains – Thomas delivers beautiful, energetic Folk/Americana mixed with a touch of Bluegrass that has captivated audiences across North America and Europe, and garnered Entertainer of the Year and songwriter nominations from the East Coast Music Association and the International Acoustic Music Awards.

One sentence from Rodney Crowell sums up the artistry of Robert Thomas and the sessionmen – “These boys know what they’re doing.”

Music has guided Driftwood to hallowed ground many times since its founding members, Joe Kollar and Dan Forsyth, started making music as high schoolers in Joe’s parents’ basement. Whether the Upstate New York folk rock group—which today also includes violinist Claire Byrne, bassist Joey Arcuri, and drummer Sam Fishman—are converting new fans on a hardscrabble tour across the country or playing to a devoted crowd at hero Levon Helm’s Woodstock barn, the band’s shapeshifting approach to folk music continues to break new ground. And yet in many ways Driftwood’s latest work, the transformative December Last Call, finds the group coming home.

Recorded in that very same basement where the Driftwood dream began, December Last Call lyrically reflects on the recent past, musing on the ways the group grew up, together and apart, through curveballs like new parenthood or pandemic shutdowns. But sonically, the band’s sixth album looks confidently to the future, experimenting with new sounds while staying true to the bluegrass roots that built them. Across the album’s nine tracks, the band often leans into hard-rocking electric guitars and driving percussion: On “Every Which Way But Loose,” we get a foot-tapping beat and a sweeping chorus, and on “Up All Night Blues,” the band shines with an ambling, sing-along-able reflection on the challenges of new motherhood. But other tracks, like standout closer “Stardust,” take a simpler route, allowing bare-bones vocals and acoustic instrumentals to underpin a deeper emotional message.

One of Driftwood’s biggest differentiators—and perhaps its biggest strength—is the sheer breadth of talent in its lineup, with Claire, Joe, and Dan all contributing as songwriters and vocalists. This creative push-pull, where each selects songs to share with the group and record together, bakes vulnerability and collaborative spirit into every recording. “It’s at the heart of what we do,” says Dan. “Everybody has a strong love for songs, for songwriting, and we each appreciate everybody else and the way that they contribute to that.”

While 2019’s acclaimed Tree of Shade tapped Simon Felice as producer, the band opted to self-produce this latest effort, leaning into their creative impulses and striving to capture their distinctive live energy. Figuring out how to channel that on-stage intensity into a recording has actually, in many ways, been a lesson in restraint. “When I look back at the things we were writing and playing, oh, I don’t know, 10, 12 years ago, they were really arranged: a lot of you do this here, we’re going to do this there, we’re going to break down, we’re going to do a big build,” Claire explains. “These days, it’s more like, ‘Let’s play the song and just see what happens.’”

This approach makes all the more sense when you consider Driftwood’s live shows, which operate not only as effervescent, twang-studded musical parties, but also as reunions for their throng of devoted listeners—folks who have started to feel less like fans and more like something bigger. “They’re supporters. They’re friends,” explains Joe. “It’s crazy how much love we’ve got and how many wild situations on the road we’ve gotten out of because of those people.” Many of them are quite literally invested in the band’s future: December Last Call was a crowd-funded effort, and it wasn’t the band’s first. It’s as if every listener, ticketbuyer, album backer, and general band evangelist is in on Driftwood’s biggest secret: this whole band thing has endured for nearly two decades because it offers a kind of community you can’t get just anywhere.

Raised in a small town west of Boston, Darren Buck received a BFA in Advertising Design from Syracuse University. After a decade in New York City working as an artist and performer, he returned to Massachusetts to become an art educator. Now in his eighteenth year, he’s the proud holder of a Masters of Science in Art Education from MassArt, and continues to pursue visual arts and music-related endeavors outside the classroom.

Along with fiddler Annie Bartlett and guitarist Michale Loria, he founded the soulful Americana band Hank Wonder. They have released two acclaimed records; Little Mysteries (2017) and Waylaid (2021).