In the wide world of American music, certain bands have a way of building an exciting life for themselves away from the glare of national attention. Much of that is because of the relationship the group has with its fans. It usually starts in small clubs or even backyards in their hometown, then spreads to nearby cities, neighboring states and soon across entire regions, until the band finally comes into its own as a national presence.

The Benjy Davis Project has spent the past seven years building fan strongholds around the U.S. and releasing three albums that capture their unique force. Davis’s songs speak to the ability of music to move an audience, as seen in countless nights of touring and performing. There comes a point in a breakthrough band’s career where they finally turn that corner into greatness. With the release on Rock Ridge Music of the Benjy Davis Project’s album, Dust, this Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based band now moves into that moment.

Davis formed the Benjy Davis Project in 2001, which began as a simple folk-rock duo but soon grew into one of the most popular bands in Baton Rouge. Eventually expanding into a six-piece group, the Project has recorded three albums prior to Dust, each a big leap from the one before, and played across the country as headliners and support act on shows with John Mayer, Better Than Ezra, North Mississippi All-Stars and others, as well as events like the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. All this experience has brought them to that place where they can become the next band to take their Southern-based sound to a new level of national popularity.

Dust was produced by David Z. (Prince, Fine Young Cannibals, Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Big Head Todd & the Monsters). There are so many moments of revelation on Dust, it’s clear that Benjy Davis and the band have achieved a defining moment in their career. In the South, music is seen as a social glue that brings whole communities together, something listeners of all types can share as they experience it. Whether it’s soul, rock, country, jazz, zydeco or blues, there is a universal truth at the heart of those styles of music. The Benjy Davis Project is at the forefront now of bands blending those sounds into songs that speak to audiences everywhere. And Dust takes all those traditions to a brand new place, and elevates the band to new heights.