Charleston country rock group to play New Brookland Tavern 
Charleston-based rock outfit Crowfield’s band name may have been inspired by a day care center, but the group’s tunes are not child’s play.
The country rockers flock to Columbia tonight for a show with the Black Iron Gathering at New Brookland Tavern. The show will also serve as Crowfield’s Midlands album release party for its new disc, “The Diamond Sessions.”
Tyler Mechem, the group’s lead singer, relocated to South Carolina from Indiana in 2005. He and Crowfield’s original piano player bought the band’s first tour van from a place called Crowfield Childhood Development and the name stuck, mostly because the rockers were stuck with it.
“We couldn’t get the name off the side [of the van],” Mechem said. “The letters and the teddy bears wouldn’t come off.”
Mechem said Crowfield’s sound falls into several genres. The group’s first album was mostly roots rock while the second release was more modern.
“The most recent album blends the two together,” he said. “[The album] is somewhere between Tom Petty and Coldplay and Ryan Adams.”
Crowfield’s musical influences have changed over time, too.
“When we started the band, it was Southern rock,” Mechem said. “We started experimenting with synth on the second album,” which he said was inspired by different sets of bands, “probably Passion Pit.”
Mechem has been listening to “old country” lately, especially George Jones and Lyle Lovett.
“The Diamond Sessions” is a tribute to one of the band’s first and most influential mentors.
“‘Diamond Sessions’ is named after one of our former managers who took a chance on us, Johnny Diamond,” Mechem said. “He passed away before we got to record the album.”
Mechem’s favorite track on the album is “Change of Heart,” the disc’s third song. Crowfield was in the middle of writing the tune when Diamond passed away.
“It has a special place for us,” Mechem said.
“The Diamond Session” is a mix of country, blues and rock. The tunes are mellow and laid back, but fueled with emotion. It’s obvious the album is a tribute just by looking at the track listing. Songs like “Cold World,” “It Hurts Right Here” and “Black Hills” play out like heartfelt American folk songs with lyrics walking the line between Neil Young and Zac Brown Band.
But just because the album gets deep doesn’t mean that Crowfield’s live gigs lack excitement, energy or fun.
“The show’s a little more energetic, a lot more rocking than the album,” Mechem said.
Crowfield has different live versions of its songs and Mechem said the group adds longer improvisations and embellishments to tunes when playing live. The band plays cover songs occasionally Mechem said, but the song choices are usually spur of the moment decisions.
“It’s not the same show every night. You got to keep it interesting,” he said.
If you’re not able to catch Crowfield this week, the band will return to Columbia later this fall and has a show booked at 5 Points Pub on Sept. 22.
Crowfield’s New Brookland show is part of NBT’s College Football Kickoff Party. The party begins at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $8. New Brookland Tavern is located at 122 State St.