Desperate times call for desperate measures.
I guess this is the product of being from a small town. Ole 60, the self-described as “not your father’s country band,” has been making waves in the alt. country scene since their debut in 2023. Since bursting onto the scene with the viral, now certified gold track, “Smoke & a Light,” the Kentucky band has continually released stellar track after stellar track, highlighted best by their debut 2024 EP, Songs About You.
The band has blown up since its inception, becoming a prominent group in the genre that has blurred the lines of country, falling right in line with alt-country artists and groups dominating the subgenre, like Koe Wetzel, Shane Smith & the Saints, Treaty Oak Revival, and Kolby Cooper.
Most recently, Ole 60 stunned with their debut record, Smokestack Town, which features their famed cover of Coldplay’s “Yellow.”
While the group is quickly on the path to becoming a household name, the beginning of their career was not without hardship, as their seemingly overnight success left them having to be stage-ready… quickly.
In a recent interview with Live at the Print Shop, the group shared that they had an extremely hard time nailing down a drummer in their early days. At one point in the interview, frontman Jacob Ty Young shared that because of their viral success, they needed committed band members from the jump. As they were going through how each of the men met, Young disclosed that finding a drummer was the most challenging part of forming the band.
Now the band has Aden Wood on the drums, but before he DM’d the group about joining:
“Aden messaged us on Instagram, I think, or TikTok. He was working, you were working in Chicago?”
Jacob Young asked Woods. Woods shared that before joining the “Let You Down” band, he worked for an electric company installing solar panels in rural areas. Although he was making good money at the time, he gave up his steady career to pursue his dreams of being in a band.
“So I just hit them up and was like, ‘Hey, I play guitar, I kind of play drums. If y’all need any help with anything, let me know.’ And they were like, ‘We’ve literally been trying to buy drum sets for people so that they will come play drums with us.'”
Young then chimes in:
“Like at the bar. At our hometown bar, I was going up to people like, ‘Hey, I will buy you a drum set if you learn how to play the drums.”
The interviewer was stunned that they had such a struggle nailing down a drummer, but they all agreed there just weren’t that many drummers in the area, and when they came across one, most of the time they were already with a band.
“Like every drummer was already in a band.”
Fate was truly on Aden Woods’ side when he sent that DM to the group, and he’s been with the band since. Funny how the stars align sometimes.
Check out the whole interview and performance from Live at the Print Shop while you’re here:
Ole 60 Tour Dates
October 30-31 – Lexington, Kentucky – The Burl
November 21 – United Central, Florida – St. Pete Country Fest 2025
November 22 – Jacksonville, Florida – FIVE
December 11 – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – The Criterion
December 12 – Springfield, Missouri – The Shrine Mosque
December 13 – Omaha, Nebraska – Steelhouse Omaha
December 31 – Owensboro, Kentucky – Owensboro Sportscenter
