MILLBROOK, June 3 — It started as a casual Friday-night set at The Rusty Lantern on Depot Street, but for The Hollow Creek Boys, that night turned into a career-defining moment. A fan-shot video of the band's rousing 11-minute rendition of their original song "River Fog" spread across social platforms over the weekend, drawing attention from music blogs, regional radio stations, and ultimately the A&R team at Dustroad Records, who flew into Millbrook on Tuesday to finalize a two-album deal.
From Bar Stools to Nashville
Lead singer and guitarist Damon Pruitt, 29, said the band never expected the clip to travel beyond their usual circle of local fans. "We were just playing for a room of maybe 80 people," Pruitt told the Courier with a laugh. "By Sunday morning my phone was melting." The five-piece group — which also includes Lena Carver on fiddle, Marcus Tully on banjo, Rafe Ochoa on upright bass, and Simone Briggs on drums — has been a fixture of the Millbrook music scene for nearly four years, playing everything from the Founders Day Festival to private weddings out on Route 9.
- The band's debut album under Dustroad is expected to record this fall in Nashville
- A hometown celebration show is planned for July 19 at Millbrook Amphitheater — tickets go on sale Friday
- The viral video has since surpassed 2.4 million views across platforms
Dustroad Records founder Carla Whitten called the group "the most authentic sound we've heard come out of the mid-South in a decade." For Millbrook, it's a rare moment of national musical spotlight, and locals are already lining up to say they knew the band when.
