By Ian Saint
Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors will play a series of Texas shows, amid their Find Your People Tour, from April 26-28. (Photo by Katie Sura.)
Twenty years after recording his debut EP, Drew Holcomb found himself with his first #1 song — “Find Your People,” the lead single off 2023’s independently-released Strangers No More album — on the Americana Radio chart.
Over the course of his accomplishment’s twenty-year arc, Drew Holcomb has rode the waves of drastic changes in the Americana genre in general. The emergence of streaming services, for example — and placements on their highly-coveted playlists — have catapulted many performers to headliner status, despite lacking a single bona fide hit on terrestrial radio. This shift coincided with Holcomb finally manifesting sustainable show business success in 2011, when “Live Forever” took off and was featured in a pivotal moment of the “Parenthood” TV series’ finale.
The Stranger No More crooner was no stranger to Texas, however, long before that breakthrough; it has been a hub in his performing schedule since the beginning of his career. Only months after headlining the Waco Hippodrome and Tannahill’s in Fort Worth last autumn, Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors are returning to the Lone Star State for shows in Austin (Scoot Inn), Houston (White Oak Music Hall), and Dallas (Longhorn Ballroom) on April 26, 27, and 28, respectively.
BUDDY’s Ian Saint sat down with Holcomb backstage at downtown Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater — laid on the Cumberland River’s banks — last October, shortly before he and his band opened a sold-out show with Darius Rucker, with whom Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors toured throughout the summer of 2023. The spirited Saturday night crowd, a short hop from Music City’s raucous Broadway Avenue, sang along with several of the songs that Holcomb had just discussed in our interview.
Watch Ian Saint’s backstage interview with Drew Holcomb below, and find an abbreviated transcript of their conversation beneath the video. Filming credit: Isaiah Cunningham.
IAN SAINT: We’re excited for your string of spring dates in Texas, upon so many of your career anniversaries! My understanding is that your Texas history began in Deep Ellum?
DREW HOLCOMB: I think my first show, ever, in the state of Texas was at the AllGood Café (2934 Main St. in Dallas) — in maybe 2004 or 2005. And then [shortly after that] was the Opening Bell Coffee shop (1409 Botham Jean Rd.) in the South Side on Lamar. [Editor’s note: Opening Bell Coffee’s records show that Holcomb played there on April 8 and August 31 in 2006.]
And then, through the years, we’ve played all over Texas. There’s something about the songwriting history in Texas, that I think our music connected pretty early with people there — the narrative piece, the bar bands… you know, there’s so much great [music] history in Texas. As soon as I started getting the opportunity to go play in Texas, we started doing that; so now it’s on pretty much every tour. I’m thrilled to come back down there, and continue to build on that story we’ve been building there for 20 years.
My favorite Texas interaction I ever had was, I’d just moved to Nashville, and I got invited via a friend to a very small gathering for Guy Clark’s birthday. So Guy Clark is sitting there, and I was like, “alright, I’ve got to figure out how to talk to him.” He’s hand-rolling a cigarette, and I was like, “So, Guy, I’m a songwriter here in town — new guy, 25 years old. Who were you listening to when you were 25?” And he goes [pause] “… me.”
IAN SAINT: Congratulations on the #1 Americana Radio success of “Find Your People,” the lead single off Strangers No More. I was struck by the lyrics of that hit song in this age of social media and dating apps. What was the genesis of that song?
DREW HOLCOMB: I was writing with a good friend of mine, Kevin Rhoads, and we got to talking about this strange thing that we both have experienced — everybody’s so connected, but they’re more isolated than ever before. I think there are less real relationships, and there’s more “oh, I kind of know that person, because I follow them on Instagram” or “I know what they’re up to, because of social media” stuff. One thing that the pandemic did for me and my family was, we spent less time on those apps, and actually spent more time with just a core group — our little pod of a couple other families. He and I were talking about that; he said “I feel like you guys found your people,” and I was like, “yeah, we definitely found our people” — and suddenly we’re like “there’s a song in here, a song about friendship, a song about trust.”
It’s also a song about my band. I’ve been on the road with some of these guys for 20 years, and most of them for at least a half-dozen years. And in this era of chaos, political division, cultural upheaval, and just a divisive, lonely time for a lot of people —
myself included — at times when you do have people, it feels like a gift. So it’s a song about how much that is necessary, and how much it means. It’s a preaching song, but it’s preaching to myself.
IAN SAINT: I read somebody recently say that dating apps feel like a part-time job at this point, with the abundance of options — you would think it would be a lot easier now, but…
DREW HOLCOMB: … you’re always looking for better, yeah. I mean, I don’t know the dating apps thing — I’m pretty young, I’m 41, but I’ve been married for almost 20 years. But I have lots of friends, and even bandmates, who are single; and even though there are more potential ways to connect with other people, it feels harder than ever, and I’m honestly grateful that’s not my situation. But I’ve got kids, so I’ve got to know about it.
IAN SAINT: Listening to your pre-COVID catalogue, I was thinking about how some songs might resonate differently today. For example, “Family” [from 2019’s Dragons] might resonate in a new way — given family member lives lost to the virus, or even the shift of priorities provoked by the pandemic. Have you noticed certain songs from your back catalogue resonating with today’s audiences differently than before?
DREW HOLCOMB: Yeah, one in particular is “End of the World” [also from Dragons]. Pre-COVID, it felt like sort of a joke — it was an ironic, sarcastic song. It’s not like 2019 was a banner year for humanity, but there’s been a lot of stuff [since then] besides COVID that has been difficult. “End of the World” had this sarcastic, ironic representation and experience; now people sing it, and they’re like, “I mean, but is it? You know, it kind of feels like it sometimes…” So now, everybody sings the chorus about as loud as they can.
“Family,” it’s interesting, because I feel like one of the beautiful things about the era that we live in is that people sometimes find their family in ways that are not necessarily traditional [or] blood. While I am very close to my blood family, I also feel like I’ve got friends that feel like family, and my band feels like family. So when I sing that song, it’s not just singing about blood; I’m also singing about the other ties that bind us together — whether it’s your work, or your neighborhood, or common interests and hobbies you share with people. That song feels bigger than just “oh, this is a song about your brother, sisters, kids, parents, and stuff,” so that’s been cool.
“Dragons,” I feel has stood the test of time from pre-COVID to post. It’s a song about people overcoming difficult things in their lives. It’s this cool narrative about meeting the ghost of my grandfather, and him giving me pieces of advice.
The difference between Strangers No More and the pre-COVID [albums] was that a lot of those [pre-COVID] songs were very external — they were about external relationships, whereas Strangers No More was a bit more an internalized conversation with myself, about getting older and the passage of time. The song “Troubles,” I wrote right after [the mass school shooting in] Uvalde — as somebody who lives in Texas, you understand the weight of that — but as a father, too… <mournful pause> I wrote that song about just wanting to escape all of the troubles that we find ourselves in.
So [on Strangers No More] I was allowing myself the fun of songs like “Find Your People” and “All the Money in the World,” but also the introspection of “Troubles” and “Fly.” And then musically, we allowed ourselves to play in lots of sandboxes — “All the Money in the World” has got this sort of classic Memphis thing going on, and “Dance with Everybody” has got this sort of Graceland and Paul Simon vibe, and then “On a Roll” has got this sort of big Springsteen and U2 thing… so we allowed ourselves to just do whatever we wanted musically, recorded twenty-some songs, and thought they wouldn’t necessarily fit together — but then when you have the same band playing together, it all works together, even though genre-wise it’s kind of all over the map. That is part of the beauty of whatever we call “Americana,” is that there’s not a lot of rules.
IAN SAINT: That’s a great segue to the significance of your 20th anniversary of making records. Your first EP was recorded in 2003, and Americanafest had only been first staged just a couple years prior. That was right before social media took off, and song-streaming services. That all was consequential for the Americana genre; but I feel like America, socio-politically, has changed. You look at 2024’s presidential race, compared to the 2004 presidential race of Kerry/Edwards vs. Bush/Cheney…
DREW HOLCOMB: Pretty traditional, down-the-middle election cycle. <laughs>
IAN SAINT: Exactly. So as someone who’s been through so many changes in the last 20 years, do you feel like it has gotten more conducive to your styles and objectives? And similarly, are there aspects that have endured all those massive changes in society and that particular genre?
DREW HOLCOMB: At the end of the day, I think Americana is a big tent for people who have something to say — that is more important than getting famous or rich. Not that that’s every pop or country artist’s dream; but there’s not really a route in Americana to major mainstream success. I mean, there’s obviously been some exceptions to that; but the music is sort of the main point, and it’s oftentimes performed and written by the same person or group of people.
There are so many artists that had a spot on the radio in the ‘70s — the Van Morrisons, Jackson Brownes, Emmylou Harrises — who probably wouldn’t have a home [in radio] if they were making those records now. So the fact that there is this sort of big tent is really neat.
I really don’t like the sort of political polarization that seems to be happening [in the music business] — like ‘country music is right[-wing], and Americana is left.’ It’s like, “hold on a minute, every individual that makes music has a different point of view.” I’m of the opinion that, while I may share a political point of view on social media or in interviews, I like to let the music speak at the show. Again, that’s just me; I’m not saying that’s how it should be, but it would be a loss to me if it was like “oh, if you listen to this, then that means 100% X is your [political leaning].”
IAN SAINT: You don’t make partisan music, is what you’re saying?
DREW HOLCOMB: Maybe I [inadvertently] do, but I don’t intentionally. I hope my music is provocative — every musician wants their music to be somewhat provocative — but in some ways I want it to be provocative [in ways that aren’t obvious]. Like for “Find Your People,” I want to [provoke] people to put their phones away and enjoy their friends for a night, regardless of who they are. My favorite moments with music are sitting around with friends and sharing songs that we love. Sitting in the bus after shows, we’d call it “Pass the Aux” — when you had the auxiliary cable, and everybody plays a song through the stereo…
IAN SAINT: Ah, “aux.” At first, I thought you said “ox” — and maybe you were playing Oregon Trail after the shows…
DREW HOLCOMB: <laughs> Now I just do Bluetooth, but it’s the same sort of thing; everybody plays the song that they love, and [share] what it means to them.
I think music is a powerful instrument of healing, and it has been that for me for my entire life; so I’ve never made music to try to fit into a certain category, I’ve just made the music that I love — that sort of reflects what I need to hear and see. For some reason, I’ve found a lot of people are like, “your music is so hopeful”; I’m like, “yeah, I guess it is, but maybe that’s what I need to hear.” Hopefully it’s provocative in that way, instead of the opposite direction.
IAN SAINT: We’re backstage at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheatre, as you’re about to open a sold-out show with Darius Rucker. He’s really remarkable for managing to launch a solo career in country music, after already carving out a legacy in rock with Hootie & The Blowfish. I suppose Hootie would’ve been part of your adolescence?
DREW HOLCOMB: Early high school, yeah.
IAN SAINT: So was that part of your… I was going to say “playlists,” but we didn’t have streaming back then… <laughs>
DREW HOLCOMB: On your mixtapes? <laughs> Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think you couldn’t be a music listener for about three years there, and not have Hootie & The Blowfish be on your radar. I moved to Nashville right around the time that Darius started his country career in 2008; and it’s been really fun, because the song that I sing with him on stage every night [“Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It”] is his first country hit.
There are a lot of things I really love about this tour [with Darius] we did all summer. First off, his band, his, crew and him — they’re all super hospitable and generous. Sometimes, openers can feel a little bit cornered away — [like] “don’t bother us, don’t touch our stuff, don’t eat our food” — and theirs has been the complete opposite of that. You’re a part of the family, “what’s ours is yours”; and that’s been really beautiful. I think that always comes down from the top; so, Darius has been a really generous and hospitable person to us.
But the other thing I love, back to you were talking about, is they’re one of the few bands in contemporary country music that what you hear out in the crowd is happening on stage in real time — there’s no tracks, there’s no gimmicks, it’s just a great band of
great musicians playing this batch of great songs. They do some of the big Hootie songs, and he’s had a dozen hits on country radio as well.
When I moved to [Nashville] as a Memphis folk kid, I kind of shooed away country; I didn’t want to be associated with it. But as those lines have broken down, I’ve found out that some of these big country artists [like Darius Rucker] are fans of my music — so I started allowing myself to listen [to country music], and I’m like, “man, these are
actually really great songs and great musicians.” So it’s been a great sort of eye-opener to me, of the great people and great music that exists in popular country music, as well. And I’ve enjoyed that change of scenery for [me and my band] — their fans are great, they love music — so that’s been fun, as well, to build sort of a new audience for us.
IAN SAINT: How’s it been, headlining your own tour again after touring with Darius?
DREW HOLCOMB: It’s been great to get back out with our fans in places like Tannahill’s [Tavern & Music Hall in Fort Worth] — these smaller, intimate places, where there’s just this palpable energy for our songs, which is very different than playing for people that are hearing you maybe for the first time.
IAN SAINT: Your next DFW date is at Longhorn Ballroom, which is often called Texas’ Most Historic Music Venue — they even had their own panel at this past Americanafest.
DREW HOLCOMB: Did they really? Cool; I’m excited about that one. I know they just reopened. You know, Dallas has always had great venues; but I’m specifically looking forward to that show.
IAN SAINT: Do you reckon you’ll stop by AllGood Café in Deep Ellum before the gig?
DREW HOLCOMB: Yeah, yeah. I haven’t been in 20 years, so I guess I should go down the street and pick up some migas.
Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors are headlining Scoot Inn in Austin, White Oak Music Hall in Houston, and Longhorn Ballroom in Dallas on Thursday, Friday, & Saturday, April 25-27. For tickets, and a full tour itinerary, visit Drew’s official website: https://www.drewholcomb.com/tour.
