Arista Nashville Reveals LANco at Neon Cross Studio Event

Arista Nashville held an event at Jay Joyce‘s East Nashville studio, Neon Cross, Thursday afternoon (Feb. 4) to give the industry its first look at the newly-signed band LANco.

The five-person group was introduced by Sony Music Nashville Chairman and CEO Randy Goodman, who spoke about A&R VP Jim Catino‘s staunch support, which became infectious among the staff. An offer to sign the band after Joyce helped tune a studio sound came when Goodman witnessed the energy of the stage show.

The story goes: LANco lead singer Brandon Lancaster was wrapping up a shift selling hot dogs at Bridgestone Arena when he spotted Joyce, introduced himself and shared some music. Joyce soon began developing the act, which showcased six songs at the producer’s church-turned-studio. Eric Church and Little Big Town have famously recorded at Neon Cross, which comes complete with dim mood lighting, laminate paneling, and wooden cross behind the stage.

With enough on-stage energy to fill a stadium, Lancaster—alongside bandmates Tripp Howell, Eric Steedly, Jared Hampton, and Chandler Baldwin—surfaced a style that seemed to combine the moves of Luke Bryan with the cadence of Sam Hunt or Old Dominion, melded with the musical framework of Coldplay or Imagine Dragons.

A pulsing, larger-than-life “Long Live Tonight” is now at country radio. In addition to the debut single, the 20-somethings played through a series of songs on banjo, electric organ and slide electric guitar. The group strummed through an electric and echoey “American Love Story,” energetic “Troublemaker,” and a cool “Singing at the Stars,” as well as “Win You Over” and “We Do.”

Hailing from Kentucky, Georgia and the Nashville area, the band shared memories of hitting the road in their RV and playing to college crowds on Friday nights.

“We were here a year ago playing for our friends, the same place we cut our record,” said Lancaster before he jumped around the audience, beating a floor tom with a drum stick. “Thank you to Jay for letting us be in your studio. Our lives have been incredible these past few years and we could not thank you enough.”

Appropriately, hot dogs were on the menu, catered by Riffs food truck.