Sol Driven Train

Overview

Sol Driven Train’s music weaves through genres like images in a Tom Robbins paragraph. The band’s sonic schizophrenia absorbs songwriting influences like John Prine and Paul Simon, Afrocaribbean rhythmic explorations, and funky New Orleans-style brass into earnest songs of life, love, loss, and long johns. The versatile 5-piece band, based in Charleston, SC, features rotating lead vocalists, and multi-instrumental talent spread across horns, strings, and percussion. Combining rich varieties of American pop and folk music into their own port-town sound, Sol Driven Train has carved out a unique musical identity within the American roots music scene.  During the spring of 2000, a close circle of friends and family began gathering in college apartments downtown Charleston to create sound and share in the joy of music. Through the course of 14 years and over 1,000 live shows, this same spirit still guides Sol Driven Train through the rocky road of the music industry. The venues have grown from bedrooms to festival stages, the amps have gotten louder, the lineup has evolved, and the crowds have multiplied, but the sense of brotherhood, mutual support, and musical independence within the band has strengthened. Through hard work and a commitment to live performance, the band’s reputation and collective musical ability has grown with every season. Named “2011 Rock Band of the Year” “2012 Jam Band of the Year” and “2013 World/Groove/Reggae Band of the Year” by the Charleston City Paper, and “On the Verge” by Relix Magazine in January 2012, Sol Driven Train is an independent band breaking into the national spotlight. Ten independent releases including two critically-acclaimed albums for children, a live concert DVD, a live album, five full-length studio albums, and last summer’s popular “Watermelon” EP document the band’s winding musical development.  The band has been working hard in the studio during the first part of 2014, preparing two more full-length albums for upcoming release.