Dave Matthews Band

South African native Dave Matthews formed his band in Virginia in the early 1990s, gaining a large fan base with constant college tours. Although musically rooted in live performance, the band's acoustic rock is colored with jazz and world-music influences, making for a mix that's difficult to pin down.

The band began when lawyer Ross Hoffman met a shy songwriter called Dave Matthews and convinced him to recruit a backing band and record a demo. Before fame beckoned original member Peter Griesar left, and in 1993 the slimmed-down band released Remember Two Things. They followed this in 1994 with Under the Table and Dreaming, which featured the hit singles “What Would You Say”, “Satellite” and “Ants Marching”. Their next album, Crash, resulted in a Grammy Award for the single “So Much to Say”.

Their next studio album, Before These Crowded Streets, was released in 1998 but it came at a difficult time for Matthews. The death of a family member had left him depressed and unable to write the up-beat songs demanded of him by his management. The working relationship with renowned producer Steve Lillywhite was dissolved and the album they had been working on at the time was scrapped. A change of management and a new working relationship with songwriter Glen Ballard re-invigorated Matthews and Everyday was released in 2001. Unfortunately, the fans were not overjoyed with the poppy sound, and the situation was further exacerbated by the fact that the previously scrapped album, which became known as The Lillywhite Sessions, was enthusiastically received by the fans after being leaked onto the internet. Bowing to fan pressure, Dave Matthews Band finally revisited the Lillywhite material and released Busted Stuff in 2002.

In 2003 Matthews and fellow band member Boyd Tinsley took a brief detour to release solo albums, True Reflections and Some Devil. It was not until 2005 that the Dave Matthews Band released their next studio album, Stand Up, which debuted at No.1 on the Billboard charts despite a mixed critical reception.

A new album is in the pipeline but, for now, the band continues to concentrate on its touring schedule which is as heavy as ever.