Drew Holcomb grew up listening to his father’s collection of 70’s singer/songwriters and that drove his initial songwriting. College at the University of Tennessee increased his interest in music. That continued during his pursuit of a master’s degree in divinity at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. IOne of his dissertations was “Springsteen and American Redemptive Imagination.”
Returning to the US, Holcomb pursued a career in music, releasing an EP and two full-length records before marrying his wife Ellie whom he had met at UT. Soon came Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, a band including his wife and two additional members. They chose to release a holiday record first, then their first non holiday album in 2008.
Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors got some choice touring slots in 2009 after the release of their first album with Robert Earl Keen, The Avett Brothers and others. The band’s following albums were successes, with steadily improving sales. Ellie Holcomb left the band in 2015 to pursue a solo career, supported by Drew on her own releases.
2019’s Dragons is the latest record from the band and reached number one on the folk and americana charts. This comes after Drew was worn down by his earlier recording and touring, ultimately ending up in a hospital for eight days for treatment for meningitis. For the new album he looked for a different way to create new songs and that meant collaboration – which was new for him.
With contributions from top song scribes in the country and roots landscape, including Lori McKenna, Natalie Hemby, and Sean McConnell, Holcomb co-wrote six of the 10 tracks on the record and ultimately made his most sonically inclusive record to date.
