Daniel Driver

Daniel Driver Bio 

Want to hear a song from the heart? Listen to any Daniel Driver song.

His new album–’ Love is a Shooting Star’ is a project that has been rolling around in Driver’s head for years.

Driver grew up in Nacogdoches, Texas, which he describes as maybe more like Mississippi or Louisiana than Texas. This led him to identify with great songwriters from the region like Adam Carroll and Lucinda Williams. 

 “I feel like I had a very typical East Texas childhood. Playing sports was a big part of my upbringing. I was a good basketball player and a runner,” he explains. “But I tended to live in my own head and I knew there was a bigger world out there. Around 10th grade, I read “Catcher in the Rye” and “Great Gatsby” and was floored by my connection to them. From that moment on, I was very intrigued by reading and storytelling. It was something that I wanted to pursue.”

Music was a constant in the Driver household. Daniel’s mother would listen to Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne on their way to school. His father (a talented picker and piano player) would wake his kids up each morning by playing the piano. Daniel took piano lessons and sang in the school choir, but after he heard Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Elliott Smith, he became intrigued with the art of songwriting that tells a story. His mother showed him the chords to “Streets of Laredo” in 9th grade and he was hooked from there on. 

Daniel’s desire to play music was fulfilled at Texas State University, where, Driver recalls, “there was music everywhere and it seemed like everyone could play. It was when I stepped in through the doors of Cheatham Street Warehouse that everything started to change.”

Kent Finlay would be a huge influence in Driver’s life. “Kent was like the Texas version of John Prine,” says Driver. “He hosted an original music, listening only, songwriter night. At the end of the night, he would have everyone gather around him as he played his songs. It was a very magical and mind-blowing experience.”

“Every now and then I would write one that would get Kent’s seal of approval and it meant the world to hear that he dug one of my songs.”

“Redbirds” from Driver’s new solo album is a tribute to Finlay, who passed away on Texas Independence Day in 2015. 

In more recent years Driver has become enthralled with Cajun and Zydeco music and started a bonafide swamp pop band called The Ditch Crickets. The band quickly became popular in Central Texas and incorporated his love for Louisiana landscape with upbeat danceable rhythms and catchy melodies.

Driver’s newest release takes a step back to his songwriter roots. It is a beautiful stripped-down record produced by David Beck. It features some of Austin’s finest musicians and is a bold step into the territory of the great Texas songwriters.

“I wanted to make an album that was as honest as possible with experiences that have happened in my life over the last four or five years. All of these songs are a collection of what makes me who I am as a person.”