Onward, Soldiers

You’d never guess it from hearing his band, but Sean Thomas Gerard was born a bona fide Yankee. The country-piped 22-year-old leader of Onward, Soldiers left his native home of Pittsburgh to attend the University of North Carolina-Wilmington; when he was done, he lighted right back to his steel-making hometown. Within a short time, he was back on the N.C. coast. It only takes a quick listen to his songs to understand why: They shine with a lively Southern soul, tangling the ends of classic rock with strains of down-home folk and country.

Onward, Soldier’s rambling barroom rave-ups and their sharp rock hooks have earned comparisons to folks from The Rolling Stones to Bob Dylan, but it’s more fitting to associate them with Marshall Tucker. Gerrard’s songs take the form of elliptical stream-of-consciousness bursts that light on myriad issues, from romance to politics. Never content to stay on one topic for one long, his quick wit chases itself in captivating circles. His four-piece band sticks with him, rolling through arrangements that broil on the edge of jam-y without making the jump. Most often jogging through quick blues or country shuffles, Onward, Soldiers cycles through keys, guitar and even mandolin as the dominant element. Whether it’s a scorching riff or just some low-country pickin’, they always keep it smoothly within their roots-rock wheelhouse, never allowing their ambition to force them out of their rollicking comfort zone.

Gerard wasn’t born into it, but you’d be hard pressed to find a more convincing (or satisfying) country rocker in any corner of the Tar Heel State. —Jordan Lawrence