Big Sky

In Gainesville, Florida, drummer Dave Moore and guitarist Ben Rowell formed the initial core of Big Sky during 1993. What began as a casual pastime grew more deliberate once Moore moved over to keyboards and the lineup expanded to include vocalist Mark Gaignard, multi-instrumentalist Ashton Allen on bass and vocals, guitarist and vocalist Chris Floyd, plus drummer Sean Crowley. The group performed regularly at college venues yet bypassed the usual route of playing covers, instead committing themselves from the outset to their own material. Echoing the rising jam-band circuit exemplified by Dave Matthews Band and Phish, they built an audience through constant road work, averaging more than 150 concerts annually, and later welcomed multi-instrumentalist Dave Kurzman as an additional contributor.

Major labels continued to ignore the band despite its independent momentum, so Big Sky issued its recordings on its own: Wide Open World in 1995, Turn in 1997, and Light Hum Serenade in 1999. Entering the new century still without major-label support, the musicians sustained an active touring schedule backed by corporate sponsors and kept releasing further albums. Their first significant personnel shift occurred when Sean Crowley departed, with Kenny Nasta taking over on drums.