The SteelDrivers Heat Up A Dreary Night in Gainesville
Nashville’s SteelDrivers returned to the outdoor stage at Heartwood Soundstage in Gainesville, Florida, on a drizzly chilly night, but it made no difference to the excellent crowd. Hoodies and umbrellas and the band’s tight harmonies and fan support warmed things up nicely. The Grammy-winning band is on their 20th anniversary tour, and they’re still bringing their soul-tinged vocals and “bluegrass noir” vibe to stages everywhere.
Original members Tammy Rogers, Mike Fleming and Richard Bailey have been doing this since 2005, and despite several line-up changes (most famously when original lead singer Chris Stapleton left to launch his solo career), the band has never lost its core identity. Nashville veteran mandolinist Brent Truitt has been with them for a decade and lead singer Matt Dame for five years, continuing to provide the gritty, blues-inflected vocals that are a trademark of the band.
They opened their set with the title track of their recent album Outrun, and much of the set was a nod to their most popular songs : “If It Hadn’t Been for Love,” “Guitars, Whiskey, Guns and Knives,” “Blue Side of the Mountain,” and “Heaven Sent,” and they ended the night with their best-known song “Where Rainbows Never Die,” with the enthusiastic crowd singing along.
Many bluegrass bands push toward speed and polish; The Steeldrivers are more about mood; stories that feel lived-in and haunting melodies that fuse tradition with grit and emotional weight. Their music is accessible to bluegrass, Americana, and country fans, and their sound is unmistakably their own. Twenty years on, they still deliver a night of great music.
