LANCO
main stage
saturday 2:35
LANCOMusic.com
One singer might be a force, but five is a family. It’s
impossible to deny: there’s just something about the
power of a band, where songs form a bond thicker than
blood. Which speaks to so many different corners of
the music lover’s heart. That experience is at the core of
LANCO – singer and lyricist Brandon Lancaster, Chandler
Baldwin (bass guitar), Jared Hampton (keyboards), Tripp
Howell (drums) and Eric Steedly (guitar) – and their
version of modern country that’s fit for arenas but sounds
equally sweet on the jukebox of a local honky-tonk. It’s a
collective effort from five artists with solid southern roots
that rocks and twangs equally, making songs like “Greatest
Love Story,” their newest single, resonate like few others:
one part classic, one part cutting edge and completely
honest.
It was in college where Lancaster met his bandmates,
all on a search to meld their country background with
a wide-ranging appreciation of music from all genres:
from Steedly’s taste for Stevie Ray Vaughan to Howell’s
love of hip-hop. At the root, though, was always country
music. “There’s a reason we are in country music.” Indeed,
nothing can get them going like a good Alabama or Willie
Nelson song. “We’re just five guys with different influences
trying to make music the way our heroes did for us,” adds
Steedly.
It was another hero that helped create one of LANCO’s
most iconic moments. At a concert one night – where he
was working concessions at the hotdog stand – Lancaster
mustered up the courage to stop producer Jay Joyce (Eric
Church, Brothers Osborne, Cage the Elephant) – not
looking for anything but to tell him he was a true fan,
still in his uniform and name tag. The encounter lead to
Lancaster leaving with Joyce’s number, but it was weeks
later when he finally threw caution to the wind and
gave him a call. Joyce asked him what he wanted in life,
point blank. “I said, ‘I want to be an artist, I want to be a
songwriter, and I’m going to keep working at the hot dog
stand until I do.’ He said, ‘OK, come over to my studio
tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.’” Lancaster was floored, and the five
members of LANCO showed up the next day armed with
their instruments and an arsenal of songs.
The result was LANCO’s self-titled four-song debut EP,
which Joyce produced. From the classic southern swagger
of “Trouble Maker” to the confessional anthem of “We Do,”
the band doesn’t see boundaries – just a love for honest
songs and music that pushes the genre forward without
ever losing sight of where its been. It’s an approach that
is even clearer in their live shows, which are some of the
most dynamic concert experiences around. “We’re never
afraid to make the most of a moment,” says Lancaster.
“Other people stand on stage, but we’re going to jump in
the crowd, kick a drum set over. We never want to have
any boundaries.”
There are no boundaries, either, when it comes to the
people they touch: LANCO is short for the band’s original
name, “Lancaster & Company,” which was meant to not
only include each other, but each and every fan connects
to their songs.
“There is a culture to LANCO,” says Hampton. “We
do this because we love country music, but also because
everything we feel and sing about, someone else does too.
That’s the biggest power there is.”
Hit Songs
• “Greatest Love Story”
• “Long Live Tonight”
• “We Do”
• “Trouble Maker”
RIB FEST
Featuring Diamond Rio,
Th e Artimus Pyle Band
honoring the music
of Ronnie Van Zant’s
Lynyrd Skynyrd & more
SATURDAY,
JULY 14, 20188
Click the Rib Fest tab at
www.bontheriver.com for tickets/details
1455 Co. Rd. 27, Watertown
(952) 955-2223
www.bontheriver.com
restaurant • bar • catering • banquet facility
outdoor bar & patio • 9 - hole golf course
WinstockFestival.com | 25 Years of Country Music
15