Star City

The moniker Star City references a locale in West Virginia, the native state of founder Jason Lewis, while also recalling the 1970s act Big Star—an appropriate link, since the New York City ensemble’s roots rock draws heavily on gratifying guitar force.

Lewis, serving as frontman, previously led indie rock groups during his classical voice training at West Virginia University. After arriving in New York in 1993, he became immersed in the East Village anti-folk circuit, then shifted focus to the city’s robust alt-country community, which centered at Rodeo Bar. The band issued its debut recording independently in 1999, moving thousands of copies largely through personal recommendations and sales at shows. Inside the Other Days, released in 2001, combined brisk, melody-driven country rock with deeply affecting ballads and was tracked at Brooklyn’s Mission of Sound by Dave Amels of Lenny Kravitz and Dennis Diken of the Smithereens.

Its veteran lineup features bassist Scott Yoder of Blue Chieftains and World Famous Blue Jays, guitarist and lap steel player David Chernis, multi-instrumentalist Kevin Karg of Hangdogs and Rolling Hayseeds, and drummer Nancy Polstein of Walter Salas-Humara, Will Rigby, and Cheri Knight. In May 2002 the group began an open-ended hiatus.