NEDERLAND -- Daniel Rodriguez spent much of his time living in Nederland. While he now lives in Lyons, he still keeps Nederland close to his heart and calls the town the source of his musical roots.
From the band’s formation in 2006 to its primary dissolution in 2018, Rodriguez served as the guitar and banjo player of Elephant Revival. He was also one of the founders and key songwriters of the group.
Once the band dissolved, however, he decided to focus on a solo career, releasing his debut EP Your Heart, The Stars, The Milky Way in 2019. He has since released two full-length albums, Sojourn of a Burning Sun in 2020 and Vast Nothing in 2023. He even collaborated with The Lumineers as a writer and featured vocalist on the 2021 single “This Is Life (Merry Christmas).”
He’s also gotten his own band together. Performing with musicians in Lyons, he made connections and developed a band from there. Currently, his band, simply known as The Daniel Rodriguez Band, consists of himself, Zach Jackson on bass, Kevin Matthews on drums, and Justin Mazer on guitar.
Rodriguez had a very musical family, so he’s always been exposed to music. His dad had a complete stereo turntable setup and a massive vinyl collection. Among the artists in his collection were The Doors, The Beatles, Credence Clearwater Revival, and Michael Jackson.
Meanwhile, his mom sang in the church, and his sister took piano lessons. Rodriguez himself never took lessons, but because he had a piano in the house, he would tinker with it frequently. Once he came of age, Nirvana exploded onto the scene, and he fell in love with the Seattle grunge music scene, in particular.
This music inspired him to buy a cheap guitar and amp when he was around thirteen, and he fondly remembers annoying his family for the next three years turning his amp all the way up in the basement.
Soon after, he bought a four-track recorder, and when he started college, he wanted to study journalism. During his time in school, though, he fell in love with his poetry and writing classes. In response, he dropped out of college, started working at a music venue where he ran an open mic night and started writing and performing his songs.
Before he started performing solo, Elephant Revival was the primary way Rodriguez could bring his songs out into the world. He remembers his time with the band fondly and acknowledges it’s been bittersweet moving forward. However, he’s still proud of the legacy the band has created and continues creating since its reformation in 2022. For him, it’s almost like seeing your child grow up and find their way in life.
Now, Rodriguez is thrilled to have his own project that he can share his songs through. He hopes that people will feel connected and inspired by the music that he brings audiences with his band, and he hopes that they’ll leave wanting to see the group again.
Rodriguez has collaborated with many incredible musicians over his entire career. These include local musicians like Benny “Burle” Galloway, who’s written songs performed by groups such as Yonder Mountain String Band, The Infamous Stringdusters, and Greensky Bluegrass, and Eric Thorin, a two-time Grammy nominee for his contributions to the albums Calling You From My Mountain by the Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band and Man on Fire by Danny Barnes.
For a few years, he even roomed with Sally Van Meter, who played on the 1994 Grammy-winning album The Great Dobro Sessions and recorded with Jerry Garcia for the album The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers: A Tribute, in what would be Garcia’s final recording session before he died in 1995.
He’s also opened for The Lumineers and shared the stage with Gregory Alan Isakov, Ben Harper, Jim James, Dispatch, and John Craigie. He’s currently working on his next record and other releases with collaborators he’s ecstatic to work with.
Throughout his entire musical career, though, his goal has stayed consistent: he wants to share his songs with an audience and connect with people through his music.
The Daniel Rodriguez Band (Daniel, Kevin Matthews, Zach Jackson, and Justin Mazer) will be performing at The Caribou Room very soon.
This show will also feature a very special opening act: a band consisting of Benny “Burle” Galloway, Sally Van Meter, and Eric Thorin. Be sure to see this star-studded show at 55 Indian Peaks Drive in Nederland on Friday, February 14th (Valentine’s Day), 2025.
Doors open and dinner starts at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 8 p.m. If you want to get your tickets in advance, be sure to head to thecaribouroom.com.
To learn more about Daniel Rodriguez, head to his website at www.drodriguezmusic.com. You can find his releases wherever you get your music.