It’s a damn tough world out there. There’s war, pandemics, a poisoned political environment, and a plethora of disagreement and divide everywhere. Naturally then, being part of an independent rock and roll band offers little opportunity for getting ahead, much less surviving in what’s become an otherwise antagonistic era.
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Given that prognosis, it’s safe to say that the band that calls itself Delta Rae not only overcame those odds, but actually exceeded even their own expectations. They did so but rallying the support they needed not only to budget a pair of new projects, but to actually exceed their goals at the same time. Their new album, The Light, was funded by a Kickstarter campaign that raised over $450,000, with $30K coming in 30 minutes and $60K in an hour.
The album, the band’s first independent release following high profile stints at Warner Bros. and Big Machine Records, is every bit as sweeping and majestic as the excitement and anticipation it entailed. It retains the band’s organic sound, a diverse approach that owes itself to the close-knit relationship of a core line-up that consists of siblings Ian, Eric and Brittany Holljes, longtime family friend Liz Hopkins, and later recruits Mike McKee and Grant Emerson. At the same time, the songs seem to soar with an emotion and intent that delivers them to a decidedly higher plateau.
It’s a remarkable accomplishment for a band that came into being just a decade ago but quickly established a sonic approach that belied their folky origins. Indeed, the trajectory seemed bound for success from the start. Their first EP (eponymously named Delta Rae) released independently and led to their signing to Warner’s Sire Records. The first full length offering, 2012’s Carry The Fire, was an album that garnered rave reviews, several high profile late night appearances, and the distinction of becoming festival favorites at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and other events of a similar stature. After It All, their follow-up effort two years later fared even better, scaling the top of the charts and making them a band to be bargained on.
In 2017, Delta Rae relocated to Nashville and signed with another powerhouse label, Big Machine, under whose auspices they released A Long and Happy Life and The Blackbird Sessions. Unfortunately, disagreements over direction caused them to leave the label and determined to make a new album on their own.
“It’s been a real saga to get here,” Ian explains. “Yet at the same time, it’s been the most fun album we’ve ever made. We had so much material that didn’t really fit the circumstances or the labels we were signed to, but it always stuck with us because it was some of our favorite material we’d ever written. Now we’re following our own muse, and all those songs that we’ve written over the years that continued to inspire us but which we never found a home for are the ones we were finally able to capture.”
The two brothers started writing songs together as kids, but Ian says that lately their sister Brittany has become more involved in crafting the tunes as well. “She’s been contributing more and more lyrics to our songs,” he explained. “She’s become a major songwriting force in the band as well.”
“Our first two albums were very eclectic,” Eric added. “But then we found ourselves in one of the regime changes at Warner Bros. and it didn’t seem like we on the same page with the new people that came in. So we followed one of our favorite A&R people to Big Machine.”
Still, they found issues to contend with there as well. “We have four lead singers in the band, but we had to pare down to two for the record we made for them,” Eric continues. “The song selection became modeled on the sound of the progressive wing of what was going on at that time in country music. So we had to leave a lot of stuff on the cutting room floor. Ultimately, everything we do kind of feels like a bit of an experiment, and we’re always trying to find our home and our audience in this industry.”
“It’s almost like we’re following our own divining rod,” Ian maintains. “In 2019, after a failed attempt at country radio, we felt like we had to pursue our own path in a really intentional way. So that’s what this record represents and that’s why it has such an eclectic mix of songs. One of the real powerful things about it is that it really charts our history over the past ten years. It has songs that were written that far back, as well as songs that were written just a couple of months ago. It delivers a true picture of what our band really sounds like.”
Even as they were trying to find their own way, the band found inspiration in artists like Ashley Monroe and Chris Stapleton, performers who had successfully plotted their course on their own. “We came up in the era of Mumford and Sons and the Lumineers and these other people that were happening with radio, but we weren’t exactly that,” Eric muses. “But we still related to the new sounds that were happening with country music, and we thought it would be good to be part of that. But the stranglehold of ‘bro-country’ made it difficult to break through. Because we’re not one thing, it’s been difficult to find our niche, whether it’s alternative music or country or whatever. People hear us in different ways, but because of how music is marketed and promoted, we’re still trying to find our own way. Fitting into that industry aspect is hard.”
Fortunately, the band found ultimate affirmation by turning to their fans and asking for their support in making not only the new album, but also the one that will soon follow, a stripped down, decidedly different effort that they’ll callThe Dark.
“I think there’s a real future in that, creating a direct relationship with your fans.” Ian asserted. It’s just about making the case for your own inspiration at every level of your artistry.”
“It’s one of the most incredible parts of being in this band, the fact that we took that leap of faith.” Eric surmises. “The band was saying internally that if this doesn’t work, it’s been an incredible decade and when we record this music, it will be a great ending to our career. But it was such an incredible outpouring of love and support, it was like the conclusion of the movie ‘It’s A Wonderful Life.’ People were coming to the table, and with every donation, there was a story about how our songs had played such an important part in their life stories. Just realizing that all the music we’ve recorded over the past ten years made such an impact became a real reawakening for the band. It was so gratifying, and more than we could have ever hoped for.”
It was also the most money that a band had ever raised in a Kickstarter campaign, and they marvel that the band and its fan did it together.
“It’s incredible,” Ian says. “All we wanted to do was to get in touch with the part of ourselves that loved making music without having to worry about whether it would be commercially successful.”
Ultimately though, Delta Rae proved that creativity can win out on its own, and still succeed even when the odds seem to say no. The triumph finds the group obviously in awe.
“It was the most satisfying thing we’ve ever done as a band,” Eric notes. “Hopefully the album expresses some of the unbridled joy that we had while we were making it.”
