Lariat makes Clinton debut in Spring Concert Series on May 23
By Sherry Lucas
Pictured (l to r) are Lariat members Nick Stewart, Josh Jolly, Dylan Alford, Justin Waite and Phillip Willis.
Lariat, a five-pieced Philadelphia-based band, brings its signature country-rooted, rock-driven sound to Lions Club Park for the final show of Clinton’s Spring Concert Series on Saturday, May 23.
The free concert starts at 6:30 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket for seating and enjoy the show.
Lariat was established in 2024, but as founder Dylan Alford says, “We may be a new band, but we’re not new musicians.”
He and four bandmates bring dozens of years of experience to the task, with at least a couple of members tracing their music roots back to preschool years.
“We’ve all been playing for years, in different bands and whatnot,” said Alford, who sings and plays electric guitar in the band. “I split from a band in 2024, and I had in mind I just wanted to start my own thing. Lariat was something I was kicking around.”
He got players together, shuffled around some members for the right lineup, started rehearsals at his house and progressed from there.
In addition to Alford, Lariat members are Justin Waite (drummer), Phillip Willis (bass), Nick Stewart (electric guitar, vocals), and Josh Jolly (acoustic guitar, vocals). With three singers, Lariat keeps a focus on vocal harmonies.
“We are a country band, but we’re not a two-stop, Western swing country band. We kind of rock things up a little bit, but we still try to focus on those pure vocal harmonies, with a kind of rock edge,” Alford said.
High energy describes the band, too.
“I always tell people when they book, ‘If you want polite background music, don’t book us,’” he said, with a chuckle.
The band performs covers, but is also branching out with original songs. Lariat’s first single “Got Me on Fire,” is now out on all streaming platforms, and the band is in the process of recording a couple more, possibly targeted for release in late summer.
“We’re a cover band, but our aspirations are bigger than that. We travel a lot and play a lot of different venues, so we try not to look at ourselves as just weekend warriors.”
The band performs a mix of ‘90s country like Shenandoah, Brooks & Dunn and Mark Chestnutt, and modern country along the line of Treaty Oak Revival, Koe Wetzel and Gavin Adcock. They play “a tiny bit” of rock, he said, but keep firmly in the country niche.
Lariat also covers a lot of ground, with shows stretching from Tunica to Orange Beach, with a concentration along the central Mississippi belt. Clintonians are encouraged to plan a warm welcome for Lariat’s Clinton debut at Lions Club Park.
