The Sweet Tea Project is an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band from

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

History

2011–12: Early years

Ed Roland Edgar Eugene Roland, Jr. (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band Collective Soul, along with his brother Dean, who also served as the band's rhythm guitarist. He is also activ ...

, frontman of the rock band

Collective Soul Collective Soul is an American rock band originally from Stockbridge, Georgia. Now based in Atlanta, the group consists of the brothers Ed (lead vocalist) and Dean Roland (rhythm guitarist), Will Turpin (bassist), Johnny Rabb (drummer), a ...

, formed the Sweet Tea Project in 2011 with a group of friends and musicians. The Sweet Tea Project recorded a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of "

Shelter from the Storm "Shelter from the Storm" is a song by Bob Dylan, recorded on September 17, 1974, and released on his 15th studio album, '' Blood on the Tracks'', in 1975. It was later anthologized on the compilation album ''The Essential Bob Dylan'' in 2000. Co ...

" for the

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

tribute album '' Chimes of Freedom'' (2012).

2013–16: ''Devils 'n Darlins''

The Sweet Tea Project were among eight artists who recorded a version of the ''

NBA on ESPN ''NBA on ESPN'' is an American television sports presentation show broadcast by ESPN. It aired from 1982 to 1984. The show returned since October 30, 2002. It consists of branding used for the presentation of National Basketball Association gam ...

'' theme, as part of a contest held by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

where fans could vote for their favorite. The Sweet Tea Project won the competition, which resulted in their rendition being featured during the network's coverage of the 2013

NBA All-Star Celebrity Game The NBA All-Star Celebrity Game is an annual exhibition basketball game hosted by the National Basketball Association as it takes place during the NBA All-Star Weekend and features retired NBA players, WNBA players, actors, musicians and athle ...

. The Sweet Tea Project's debut album, ''

Devils 'n Darlins ''Devils 'n Darlins'' is the debut studio album by American rock music, rock band Ed Roland and the Sweet Tea Project. Track listing References

2013 debut albums 429 Records albums Albums produced by Ed Roland Ed Roland and the Sweet ...

'', was released on September 3, 2013 by

429 Records 429 Records was an American record label. It was a subsidiary label of Savoy Label Group/Nippon Columbia focusing on indie rock and adult album alternative performers. In addition to releasing new material from musicians such as Dr. John, Littl ...

. The album's first single, "Love Won't Bring Us Down," was released on August 13. 429 Records noted the single received strong

airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

in markets such as

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. In June 2015, a music video for the track "Just As I Am" was released.

2017–present: ''Alder Lane Farm''

In February 2017, it was announced that Roland hired Tony Caporale, the TwinBear Management founder and CEO, as the band's new manager. The Sweet Tea Project's second album, ''Alder Lane Farm'', was released on October 6, 2017. An official music video for the track "Evangeline" was released on September 29.

Origin of band name

In a 2013 interview with ESPN, Roland explained the background of the band's name: "It's a very Southern thing. We wanted to have an Americana flavor. There's nothing more American or Southern than

sweet tea Sweet tea, also known as sweet iced tea, is a popular style of iced tea commonly consumed in the United States (especially the South) and Indonesia. Sweet tea is most commonly made by adding sugar or simple syrup to black tea while the tea is ...

. That's what we grew up drinking."

Discography

Studio albums

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweet Tea Project, The 2011 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) 429 Records artists Ed Roland Musical groups established in 2011 Musical groups from Atlanta Rock music groups from Georgia (U.S. state) American musical quintets