Natalie Stovall

Although primarily proficient across multiple instruments, country performer Natalie Stovall earned her strongest recognition through violin work. Born and raised in Columbia, Tennessee, she began formal violin instruction at age four and had already turned professional by ten, reaching the Grand Ole Opry stage at twelve. While her explosive live sets reflected the high-octane approach of Shania Twain and Garth Brooks, early exposure to classic rock also shaped the intensity of the performances she delivered once she assembled the Drive in 2006, a lineup that featured drummer James Bavendam, guitarist Miguel Cancino, bassist and vocalist Zach Morse, and guitarist and vocalist Joel Dormer. The group issued its six-song EP Standing My Ground through Hat Factory Records in 2010, sustaining a demanding road regimen of roughly two hundred dates annually until early 2013, when HitShop Records president Skip Bishop witnessed one of their explosive Nashville appearances and offered the band a deal. The label then paired them with producer Paul Worley to record their first full-length album.