Benjy Davis Project

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 is poised to take on that presence. They've spent the past six years building fan strongholds around the U.S., 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 September 18th on Real Records of the Benjy Davis Project's new album, Dust, this Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based band now moves into that moment.

"I want to reach people and hopefully touch them in some way." That's how Benjy Davis describes his mission, and music is his medium. It's always been that way for him, since he was a young teenager in Louisiana, listening to everything on the radio, taking it all in until it would be his time to step up and become an artist. He 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. Mic Capdevielle (drums) was the other part of the duo with Benjy Davis in the beginning, and said "when Benjy and I got this ball rolling, I could tell that this ball would never stop. Our relationship goes further than just musically and that's what makes this ball work. This album is raw in that it's so true. Not just in lyrics, but in the instruments. They too have a voice." 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.