Augustana started out as a college band- the difference was that these boys did not want to simply be a college band and nothing more. It was at Greenville College Illinois that Dan Layus met Josiah Rosen and the two began jamming together. After calling themselves Augustana, the duo roped in Jared Palomar to play keyboards for them. The band already had a number of songs written and were gaining a fair amount of local popularity. But Illinois was not the place to be for the band and after some deep soul searching, the trio decided to quit college and pursue their dreams of a musical career in California. After pushing their website through a few old contacts, the band found themselves on the gigging circuit and doing showcase performances for major labels.

The bid to quit college paid off- Augustana were soon signed to Epic records and entrusted to producer Brendan O'Brien who had worked with acts such as Pearl Jam and Springsteen. The band already had a huge repertoire of songs- Layus had been busy writing on the road and at home, which resulted in a strong selection of songs; the ones written on the road tended to be grittier while those written at home were relatively lighter in tone. With an experienced producer in tow, the band was able to nail down their signature style in their debut album. Though the band members differed in many ways, when it came to their music everything fell into place and worked on a very natural and organic level. The result is a sound that is a fusion of Americana and European rock.

As the members themselves will admit, the album is not a bright and shiny thing- there are a number of unpolished areas but the band opted to leave them as they were since they captured the organic essence of the band and their sound. The band's originality shines forth in the varied selection of songs that deals with many issues of finding oneself and the theme of being along and hurt. This is one band that you do not want to miss in concert so what are you waiting for? Get to your online ticket vendor and order your tickets to see Augustana today!