Basin Summer Sounds has a little something for everyone

EPHRATA — A guy could do a lot worse than being compared to Dave Matthews, but longtime Seattle singer/songwriter Nick Drummond likens his world-beat, uplifting groove to one of his main influences, Paul Simon.

The Basin Summer Sounds fans were treated to a band venturing out, flexing some of its creative flair Friday night to kick off the two-day music event. Drummond was deeply rooted in a Seattle acoustic trio called The Senate, which played sold-out shows at some of the finest venues in the Pacific Northwest. Now, it’s a new project and a new band riding high on the energy of a new CD.

The Nick Drummond Band, which includes Cole Schuster (guitar), Mark Mattrey (bass) and Ehssan Karimi (drums), turned up the vibe with a shining performance featuring a number of songs from their new release, “Follow the Rivulets.”

“The Senate has been the vehicle for my songwriting for many, many years,” Drummond said. “With different lineups, you create differently. These guys (Schuster, Mattrey and Karimi) bring out things that are a lot more jam oriented and little bit looser, which I really enjoy playing in. The Senate was a lot more structured. This band can just groove for little bit. I don’t know if I’m particularly good at it, but I enjoy it.”

The new release is an 11-song work and Drummond’s first full-length studio CD, which came out in the spring. There is a certain excitement around the music because for the first time in his career, it was under his creative direction.

“This is my first studio album, ever. I’ve always done just a bunch of live albums, so I’m really quite excited about that,” he said. “It’s the first time that it’s been my project. I’ve always been in a band where you’re trying to get the most out of every member, which is cool. But I thought this one up from the very beginning and there’s something satisfying and fun about that.”

They reached into the longtime popular repertoire with “Here I Am,” which received a bit of Seattle radio station air time. But for the most part, the night was filled with new songs like “Rivulet,” “How Strange,” “Runes,” and “Firefly.”

Drummond changed off between a banjo and guitar, standing center stage for all the vocals. The rhythm section drove groove and Schuster and Drummond complemented each other, injecting new energy into new songs.

“It’s fun to take these songs out on the road with new players and breathe extra life into them,” Drummond said. “There’s an energy that comes along with live music. It’s an exchange between an audience and a musician and that’s the key, which is next to impossible to get in the studio unless you’re just having one of those magic moments. Live, you’re riding that knife edge where this could all fall apart or this could be really amazing.”

The Nick Drummond Band rode that knife edge off into the night, kicking off an incredible two-day series of music and summer sounds.

Spike and the Impalers played like the Seattle veterans they are, taking the crowd to a new energy level. Columbia Basin music fan Chuck Sorger sounded off on the Spike and the Impalers Facebook afterwards saying, “Great show last night in Ephrata! Make it an annual event.”

The first night ended with the soulful country sounds of Barrett Barber. He’s a rising star in country music and delivered with a performance to bring down the house.

Saturday’s lineup was equally as impressive, finishing with a full head of steam with a band Rolling Stone called one of the 10 country artists you need to know — The Railers. The night also included a stellar lineup with Brewer’s Grade, 22-year-old country singer Dylan Jakobsen, the eight-member Seattle band Country Lips.

The weekend was one part street party, one part hoops fest, a little bit of car show and an explosive musical lineup that gave music fans of all kinds an influential variety of summer sounds.