Arden, North Carolina (November 22, 2022) — Chris Jones & The Night Drivers are celebrating their eighth No. 1 song from one album, an unprecedented milestone in Bluegrass radio. “Silver City” — which tells of the joys of experiencing a new place and life abroad — topped the Bluegrass Today chart earlier this month, following “We Needed This Ride,” “Leave It At The Gate,” “Quiet Click,” “Whither You Roam,” “Riding The Chief,” “Bed Of Snow,” and “Everybody’s Got A Line” from the band’s album, Make Each Second Last.
Jones has been called a singer-songwriter who happens to front a bluegrass band, and though the choice is a little more deliberate than that phrase might suggest, there’s still a nugget of truth in the observation, and it arguably applies more than ever to the music on this album. Filled entirely with material written by Jones and a handful of collaborators that includes both former and current Night Drivers, it’s the veteran artist’s most original and most varied outing yet — and one that introduces two new members of the ensemble in Grace van’t Hof (banjo, ukuleles, accordion, vocals) and Marshall Wilborn (bass, vocals).
“When I started recording for the first time with the new lineup of the band, this is something I never expected,” says Jones, of the charting success. “We were just trying to make the best music we could that was also unique and reflected the personality of the band. We found that we really clicked together on stage and in the studio, and we were just enjoying what we were doing. So then to have every single we released from our first album together top the charts was really gratifying because it affirmed something we already felt good about, and it meant that our listening audience felt good about it, too.”
With each of the albums he and the Night Drivers have made for Mountain Home — Run Away Tonight (2015), Made To Move (2017), and The Choosing Road (2019) — Jones has dug deeper into a deeply personal synthesis of unique sounds, compelling themes and world-class songcraft, all embedded in a recognizably bluegrass setting, creating a sound whose appeal reaches far beyond the world of bluegrass while remaining firmly grounded within it. On Make Each Second Last, he served notice that the journey continues.
“Make Each Second Last isn’t so much a departure for us, but a stretching of boundaries, and a fuller embrace of what makes us unique as a band, including some of the instrumental and vocal versatility brought in by new band members Grace van’t Hof and Marshall Wilborn. Mark Stoffel’s instrumental presence and creativity, always important to the Night Drivers’ sound, is also given an even bigger spotlight than on past releases,” says Jones.
Listen to all eight No. 1 songs and the rest of Make Each Second Last HERE.
About Chris Jones & The Night Drivers
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.”
The band — which is Mark Stoffel on mandolin, Grace van’t Hof on banjo and ukelele and Marshall Wilborn on bass — is led by Chris’ soulful lead-singing, songwriting, 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.
Altogether, members of Chris Jones & The Night Drivers have won more than a dozen IBMA awards and have recorded more than ten #1 songs. The Night Drivers also bring name recognition in related fields, as bluegrass fans are well-familiar with Jones for his award-winning work as a SiriusXM DJ, on both Bluegrass Junction and Willie’s Roadhouse.