Country band

East Lonesome Drifters

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About East Lonesome Drifters

Classic country, western swing, Bakersfield, outlaw & alt-country. US singer, pedal steel - the UK's most authentic honky tonk barroom band!
Country band
London
Public liability insurance of £10 million
Verified profile

"Possibly the best classic country, honky tonk and western swing you are likely to hear this side of the Atlantic. It really is that good!" Country Music People magazine, May 2019 East Lonesome Drifters are a five-piece homage to classic country, western swing and the Bakersfield Sound. Hailing from Southwestern Pennsylvania, singer and raconteur Crispy Cowboy lends authentic voice to handpicked classics from the likes of Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Bob Wills, Buck Owens, Gram Parsons, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Steve Earle and George Jones. Backed by pedal steel, telecaster, acoustic guitar, bass and kick drum, East Lonesome Drifters play with all the original energy and edge of honky tonk barroom bands from the golden era of country & western. With several hundred gigs under their belts since 2014, the band have also appeared at UK festivals such as Red Rooster, Harlequin Festival and Millport Country Festival. In March 2016 they played Willie Nelson’s ‘Phases and Stages’ LP in its entirety at Soho’s Country Soul Sessions, and for the previous three years have hosted an all-day ‘4th of July’ party in Stoke Newington. In 2019 they entertained at the Tower of London and they have recently returned from headlining The Falkland Islands' inaugural country music festival. Equally at home in bars and pubs across the south east or weddings, parties, festivals and corporate events, East Lonesome Drifters will put you in ‘that’ scene in the movie, where the dance floor is full and the honky tonk music is flowing!

Encore badges
7th Anniversary
This act has been working with Encore for over 7 years
Musicianship
Genres:
Country, 1950s era music, 1960s era music, 1940s era music, 1970s era music
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Types:
See all types
Event types:
Bar / Club / Venue event, Wedding, Hotel / Restaurant event, Private event, Corporate event, Concert, Recording session, Theatre / Show, Birthday party, Christmas party, New Year's Eve
See all event types

East Lonesome Drifters' Song list

Jambalaya - Hank Williams
Never Get Out This World Alive- Hank Williams
Ring Of Fire - Johnny Cash
Wanted Man - Johnny Cash
Before You Go - Buck Owens
Folsom Prison Blues- Johnny Cash
Streets Of Baltimore - Gram Parsons
California Cotton Fields - Gram Parsons
Sin City - Flying Burrito Bros
Crazy - Willie Nelson
On The Road Again - Willie Nelson
Bloody Mary Morning - Willie Nelson
Get Up Jake - The Band
Mama Tried - Merle Haggard
Working Man Blues - Merle Haggard
Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down - Merle Haggard
Dire Wolf - Grateful Dead
Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You- Bob Dylan
It's The Bottle Talking - Bob Wills
Stay A Little Longer - Bob Wills
Lonesome, Onry and Mean - Waylon Jennings
Are You Ready For The Country - Neil Young
The Race Is On - George Jones
Close Up The Honky Tonks - Buck Owens
If You've Got The Money - Lefty Frizzell
Reuben James - Kenny Rogers
Hometown Blues - Steve Earle
London Homesick Blues - Gary P Nunn
Eastbound and Down - Jerry Reed
Take Me Home Country Roads - John Denver
Suspicious Minds - Elvis
Rhinestone Cowboy - Glen Campbell
Together Again - Buck Owens
Crazy Arms - Ray Price
Old Country Waltz - Neil Young
Boot Scootin' Boogie - Asleep At The Wheel
Sunday Morning Coming Down - Johnny Cash
The Whiskey Ain't Workin' - Travis Tritt
Wichita Lineman - Glen Campbell
The Grand Tour - George Jones
Above and Beyond - Buck Owens
Honky Tonk Blues - Hank Williams
Carmelita - Warren Zevon
If We Make It Through December - Merle Haggard
Houston Kid - Guy Clark
Whiskey River - Willie Nelson
Buckaroo - Buck Owens
Pan-American - Hank Williams
El Paso - Marty Robbins
Steel Guitar Rag - Bob Wills
And many more...
Customer questions

Do you have different line-up options?

Our line up is as follows, US singer, pedal steel guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, electric bass guitar, kick drum. We also play with a piano player, subject to availability.

What if my timings change after I've booked you?

We always try our best to be flexible to help ensure your event runs as smoothly as possible. If timings change slightly in the run up to the event just let us know.

Can you provide an iPod/DJ service before and between your sets?

Absolutely. This is a really popular request and we actually offer this service for free. If you'd like a vinyl DJ service via our PA after the final set until the venue closes, we provide this for an additional £150, decks to be supplied.

How much time do you need to set up?

“We usually set up about 1 to 1.5 hours before the performance time. As soon as our PA is set up we can provide a free country playlist service to help set the atmosphere and get your guests ready for our live performance!

Can you roam around while you perform?

No

Can I pick the songs you play from the set list?

Our set lists are crafted from countless performances and learning what works best to ensure guests dance and have an amazing time. However, we're definitely happy to chat through and make sure we find what works for your event.

Is all of the equipment (e.g. PA & lighting) included in your quote?

No, we can provide a small PA for and extra £50

Can you learn song requests before the event?

If a song isn't included in our song list there may still be a chance we already know it. If there is a special song you'd like us to learn we are happy to do this for you providing it's in the "classic country" genre. There is a fee of £50 for this service to take into account rehearsal times etc.

What do your clients love most about your performances?

Clients love our commitment to classic country music and our ability to create an upbeat atmosphere in any venue

Which venues have you performed at in the past?

Country Soul Sessions, Soho New Cross Inn, SE14 Millport Country Music Festival, Scotland Glasgow's Grand Ole Opry The Islington, N1

Which artists have you been most influenced by?

Merle Haggard Hank Williams Willie Nelson Buck Owens Gram Parsons

What is the most high profile gig you've performed?

Red Rooster Festival

East Lonesome Drifters' Prices

Note: prices may vary based on travel distance. For an exact quote, click “Check availability”.

Standard Prices
Performance durationPrice
Up to 1 hour£500
Up to 2 hours£700
Up to 3 hours£1100

Add-ons

PA provided
+£50
DJ set
+£150
East Lonesome Drifters
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5 out of 5
3 verified reviews
Satisfaction
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5.0
Professionalism
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5.0
Communication
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5.0
Punctuality
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5.0

East Lonesome Drifters' Reviews

From Encore customers:

PG
Paige G
1 year ago
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5 out of 5

Well what can I say. The East Lonesome Drifters exceeded my expectations and some! They were such a lovely group of guys who really made the day special. They were so accommodating and even played a special song for us that wasn’t on their set list. They sounded incredible and authentic and completely transformed our back garden into a festival! We couldn’t recommend them enough. We almost didn’t want them to leave at the end and wanted them to stay and enjoy our party with us! Thanks again guys

HP
Holly P
3 years ago
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5 out of 5

We couldn’t have wished for a better wedding band and completely recommend them for anyone looking for some truly excellent live music at their wedding! We had a sort of festival style wedding with hay bales & an open marquee for the music in the evening. We really wanted to feel like we were there to watch the band play rather than just background music, having a great live band was so important to us. You simply won’t get the same experience we had in person with the band unless you are with them live, their recordings don’t do them & what they bring to your event justice! They were great to communicate with pre-wedding, super friendly & responsive, they turned up promptly and even donned the sombreros our groomsmen had gotten their hands on, to perform, they were such fun! They learnt our favourite song for our first dance and nailed it and provided a truly magical evening’s worth of fantastic music for us and our guests to dance to. They also let us use their PA system for a small additional charge after they had finished. I loved everything about our wedding but it was the band who really made the day for us.

SU
Sarah U
4 years ago
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5 out of 5

East Lonesome Drifters were exceptional in every way. They were such a lovely bunch of guys, and every single person at our party thought they were brilliant. Some folks were asking us where they could go and see them perform again. They certainly won over a group of people that weren't necessarily in to that genre of music. I particularly liked the friendly/easy going nature of the band. They even performed with another act we had, and also made the birthday girl's day by letting her take the stage with them as well, We want to do it all over again and definitely would look to book and or go and see them again. Thanks so much guys :) Sarah

From other customers:

PP
Paul C
6 years ago

Hi guys, well if you weren't at HOBO's, you missed a fantastic gig tonight !!!! We had LIVE on stage, from London, EAST LONESOME DRIFTERS a six piece band , all great musicians and superb vocals/harmonies. Such a great diversity of songs.......some covers and some own material. They are welcome back anytime as everyone I spoke to said what a great night they had......it was non stop!!! The lead singer "CRISPY COWBOY" being American (lived in London for around 10yrs!!) added that little something extra to the overall sound and you rarely see a washboard these days !!!

JC
Jacqui O
6 years ago

What a great weekend, we had a new band to us East Lonesome Drifters on Sat night. Lots of visitors / parties coming over the weekend and a great atmosphere in the place with everyone enjoying themselves and quite a few comments with several groups coming back to see us again as they loved their night and venue and felt they had been made welcome - which is much appreciated :-) Our new band gave us a wonderful selection of songs that aren't normally done on the country scene which was refreshing to hear. Thanks for making the long journey up to play for us and we hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as we did. So once again thanks to everyone who played for us and gave everyone a good night.