Profile

Chris Jones & The Night Drivers
  • Original

    Focused Bottom End / High End Shimmer w/o Harsh Overtones / Full Tonal Spectrum of your Guitar / Six sets from 010-046 to 014-058

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    $15.39
  • Original

    Copper-Tin-Phosphor Alloy / Three sets from 009-032 to 011-040

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  • Chris Jones & The Night Drivers

    Instrument
    Acoustic Guitar, Banjo, Mandolin
    Genre
    Bluegrass
    Strings
    A270 Phosphor Bronze Mandolin, S325 Phosphor Bronze Acoustic, Custom Stainless Steel 5-String Banjo

    Whether it’s in the studio or on stage, Chris Jones & The Night Drivers are making some of the most distinctively elegant yet driving music to be heard anywhere today, and they’re delivering it with a unique blend of dry wit, emotional authenticity and broad humor that’s won the loyalty of a growing number of fans across the country, from Merlefest in North Carolina to California’s Huck Finn Jubilee, and around the world. Steve Martin referred to the Night Drivers as “. . . some of the best players in bluegrass! Chris Jones’ voice is there with the great masters.” Americana artist Jim Lauderdale said of Chris, “He continues to have one of the most distinctive and best voices in music, period.”

    Founded by guitarist Jones in 1995, the Night Drivers feature four distinct personalities who bring a multitude of talents to each performance: Chris Jones who hosts Siriux XM’s Bluegrass Junction, bassist Jon Weisberger, who co-hosts Del McCoury’s SiriusXM show, Mark Stoffel on Mandolin, and GInaClowesthe group’s newest member Gina Clowes on banjo. Chris is a two-time IBMA Broadcaster of the Year. The band is also becoming known as a songwriter’s bluegrass band, with Weisberger and Jones now co-writing many of the band’s current songs, and all four members contributing material. Chris and Jon are both IBMA award-winning songwriters, Jon being the 2012 Songwriter of the Year, and Chris taking home the trophy for the 2007 Song of the Year for “Fork in the Road.” In total, Chris and the band members have won 8 IBMA awards. The band is led by Chris’ soulful lead-singing and solid rhythm and lead guitar. Chris boasts extensive performance credits as a sideman with artists like Lynn Morris, Vassar Clements, Special Consensus, Dave Evans, Earl Scruggs, and the acclaimed Irish band The Chieftains. Mark Stoffel, who is originally from Munich, Germany, has a mandolin style that perfectly fits the band sound with his beautiful tone, taste, and rhythmic sense. Jon Weisberger, whose playing has made him a sought-after fill-in bass player in Nashville with The Del McCoury Band, the Roland White Band, Larry Cordle, and others, anchors the band’s strong rhythmic foundation. Newest member, Gina Clowes, a very talented banjo player, and another contributor of original material, hails from Winchester, VA. As a young banjo player, Gina was a frequent finalist in the prestigious Galax banjo contest, and came to The Night Drivers after a long stint with the the popular West Virginia/Virgina band, “Bud’s Collective.”

    The strength and durability of this lineup—Weisberger has been Night Drivers for 13 years, with Stoffel on board for the last 9 of those—has led to the kind of musical tightness and ease with each other that has impressed audiences both nationally and internationally. Even with this longevity, their star continues to rise, with the 2015 release of “Run Away Tonight,” their first for the Mountain Home label. The first single release from the project, a Jones/Weisberger co-write called “Laurie,” spent an impressive 18 straight weeks on the Bluegrass Today weekly national airplay chart, 6 of those weeks in the #1 spot. The album has garnered praise from a range of publications, from the Wall Street Journal to Bluegrass Unlimited.

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