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All Aboard

Wednesday, July 27, 2011


Sol Driven Train—composed of (from left to right) Wes Powers, Rusty Cole, Ward Buckheister, Russell Clarke, and Joel Timmons—is playing this weekend’s Sol Fest at the Windjammer. Photograph by Carlin Timmons

July 27, 2011


All Aboard
Sol Driven Train burns up the tracks with “sonic schizophrenia”

written by Stanfield Gray

Charleston-based Sol Driven Train must maintain vast stores of musical soul coal, as they’ve averaged nearly 150 shows a year since 2005, sharing the stage with the likes of Michael Franti, Richie Havens, Keller Williams, Arlo Guthrie, and Blues Traveler along the way.

Ward Buckheister (guitar and trombone), Rusty Cole (bass), Wes Powers (drums), Russell Clarke (saxophones), and Joel Timmons (guitar) describe their sound as a “sonic schizophrenia” of rotating lead vocals and instrumentation. Among their primary influences, they cite John Prine, Paul Simon, author Tom Robbins, Afro-Caribbean music, and Southern rock. Songs like “The Cave” could rock the Kasbah, offering an exotic melody reminiscent of the Middle East, while “Stevie Song #3” has reggae-tinged folk flair. Regardless of style, the band’s lyrical content remains wonderfully unpredictable, no doubt due to the presence of numerous singer-songwriters.

Sponsored by Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka, the group released their ninth independently produced work, Watermelon, on July Fourth. Catch some of the new tunes this Friday and Saturday, July 29 and 30, when Sol Driven Train plays The Windjammer’s Sol Fest, also featuring a host of other musicians such as Shovels & Rope, Danielle Howle with Firework Show, Elise Testone and the Freeloaders, and the South Carolina Broadcasters.

To find more on Sol Driven Train—including a sampling of their songs—click here.

For details on Sol Fest, click here.

For more events happening around town this weekend, click here.