February 28, 2024 at 9:50 a.m.
If there is one word to describe the Night Owl Country Band's energy in 2024, it is electric.
And the award-winning, (now) five-piece band has much to be excited about.
Ahead of the national release of their latest single “Somewhere in the Country” March 16 at Mike’s Music & Dance Barn, located at 2277 State Road 46 West in Nashville, Ind., a new tour with Tom Wopat set to kick off later this year – including a Saturday night stop at the 56th Annual Hope Heritage Days in September, a forthcoming release of their latest album “Off the Tracks” this summer, and a slew of 2024 award nominations, the band is making its much-anticipated return to the stage at the Pixy Theatre at 7 p.m. Saturday.
And the band will be joined by two new official Night Owls: female vocalist Kyndal Dixon, performing lead and harmony, and Brandon Fields on rhythm guitar and keyboard.
“We’ve been wanting to be a five-piece [band] for a long time,” says NOCB frontman Matt Lee. “We are going to be doing some three-part harmony stuff, so it is going to be a lot different – in a good way.”
Dixon, a Columbus native and Columbus East High School alumna, brings decades of musical and theatrical onstage experience, as well as a true love of music.
In addition to the band’s commitment to family, Dixon says she’s been very impressed with their talent and dedication.
“All the guys are super sweet and understanding,” 34-year-old Dixon says. “The amount of talent I’ve seen in the past month and a half that has come out of this band is insane.”
Like Dixon, Fields brings a lifelong love of music and more than a decade of experience.
Having grown up in a musical family, Fields was immersed in music from a young age, he says.
“I’ve had a passion for music my whole life,” 24-year-old Fields says.
Fields is no stranger to the NOCB as he’s also been an extra set of hands for nearly five years helping the guys with show set up and tear down, he says.
Reaching back to the musical foundation on which his passion is based, Fields says his upbringing definitely helped prepare him for this new journey.
“That foundation piece is really important and its where I go to get inspiration for some of the stuff we are working on now,” he says. “I go back to my roots – as people say.”
Meeting up twice each week for rehearsals, the band is laser-focused on the exciting journey ahead, they say.
The band is looking forward to people enjoying what they hear and see, and that they come out and support us, Dixon says.
“We are working really hard and doing so well,” she adds. “We want people to see we haven’t changed, we’ve gotten better.”
What: The Return of Night Owl Country Band Country Concert
When: 7 p.m. Saturday, March 2
Where: Pixy Theatre, located at 111 S. Walnut St., in Edinburgh.
Cost: $10 per person at the door.
** For reservations, call 619-379-5116.
** Keep up with the latest exciting NOCB news by following the band via social media HERE and online.