STRING PASSION
Grammy-winning bluegrass band SteelDrivers to perform at ABQ zoo
Tammy Rogers is grateful for any recognition her music gets. Rogers has been making music for nearly a decade with the bluegrass group The SteelDrivers. During that time, the band’s music has inspired listeners.
During her first tour, Adele, who later won Grammy Awards, covered the band’s song, “If It Hadn’t Been for Love.”
That was in 2008.
During that time in The SteelDrivers, the frontman was Chris Stapleton.
Stapleton left the band in 2010 to begin a successful solo career.
“Having both Chris and Adele talk about us brought a huge amount of attention to the band,” she says. “It’s that kind of thing you can’t plan. It’s amazing. I think it’s great. It brought over their audience to us and gives us a bigger platform for music.”
The SteelDrivers are now Grammy winners themselves.
In 2016, the band won the Grammy for best bluegrass album for “The Muscle Shoals Recordings.”
Rogers says that despite the win, the band still puts the same amount of pressure on themselves.
Rogers, along with Richard Bailey, Mike Fleming, Gary Nichols and Brent Truitt, has begun work on the next ablum.
“We’ve been trying to write a lot of songs and find some time in our schedule to record them,” she says. “We’re trying to bring in some new grooves that we haven’t explored yet. The process feels very natural to me.”
Rogers says that as she works on the new album, she continues to strive to top the previous album.
“We’re not letting the Grammy Award influence the music,” she says. “I think we’ve always went into the studio trying to make the best music we can. This will be our fifth record, and it’s important to me to not create the same album. It’s important to bring in some new elements.”
One of the new elements is working with Dave Cobb in Nashville, Tenn.
Cobb has worked with Shooter Jennings, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell and Stapleton.
“Being in a new environment really helps us get into a different zone,” she says. “We’re very happy the way it’s coming together.”