Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, pictured above, will play tonight at The Lyric.
Numerous musicians pass through Oxford every year. Some are on their way to the top, some are just on their way and some are just playing because they can. It is tough for any band to make it in the current music climate, and especially one from such a small area.
One of the few bands that did is Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors. Unlike many bands that range through this small town, when Drew and his wife, Ellie, come to Oxford, they are coming back to where their musical careers began.
Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors will be playing tonight at the Lyric. Their mix of soft indie and folky alt-rock notes merge along the new-age alternative movement. Paired with the companion band, Judah & the Lion, the Lyric will be filled with the kind of music Oxford loves: quirky, strong and just off the beaten path.
“I love Oxford,” Holcomb said. “It’s a town with a lot of personality and a lot of history.”
Holcomb first started coming to Oxford when his sister was a student at The University of Mississippi. He reminisced about Square Books and the many Double Decker Arts Festivals he attended on his visits.
“We’d just enjoy all the great things you have there,” he said. “I’ve been coming back ever since.”
After experiencing so much of what Oxford had to offer, Holcomb knew right where to come when he started performing.
“We started playing music, and Oxford was one of the first towns we came and played,” he said.
Oxford is also special to Drew and his family because of one particular Double Decker Arts Festival.
“When my wife, Ellie, and I were first friends and she was singing with me every now and then, I was trying to convince her to date me,” Holcomb said.
“I brought her down to Oxford for Double Decker in 2005, and that is where I asked her out for the first time, right there in the Square on the courthouse steps,” he said.
After many years of dating, Ellie and Drew married and later had their first child, a daughter.
“We named her Amy Lou after Amy Lou Harris, who was the musician that night in remembrance of our first date,” he said. “So Oxford is a very meaningful place for us as a family.”
In 2005, when Drew was lucky to catch a first date with Ellie, the band caught some special attention as well. The 2005 album, “Washed in Blue,” gained the band a large amount of attention, and its music was soon included on TV shows such as “Army Wives,” “The Cleaner,” “House M.D.” and the recently ended “How I Met Your Mother.”
After extensive touring and a steady rise on the music scene, Holcomb expressed contentment in coming back to his roots.
“This is our first time to play the Lyric,” Holcomb said. “It’s good to come back and play there.”
A big first is on the young band’s horizon. On June 7, the band will host the Moon River Music Festival in Memphis.
“This show will definitely be a preview of that,” Holcomb said. “Hosting a music festival is something I’ve always wanted to do.”
The festival will feature multiple bands known to the Oxford scene such as The Dirty Guv’nahs, which played at the Lyric just two weeks ago.
“The other band on tour with us is Judah & the Lion,” Holcomb said. “They’re a really great alternative-folk band.”
Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors are sure to bring their unique style to the Lyric’s stage and even give a sneak peek to what’s in store for this rising band.
“We love the crowd there,” Holcomb said. “We love Oxford.”
