Bio

Edgar Derby has been making music for over two decades. He was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, and is currently based in Denton, Texas. Derby's music fuses acoustic, lyric-based folk with a unique songwriting style and energetic performances. He treats a live audience to a multi-instrumental show that includes vocals, guitars, a resonator, and harmonicas. Edgar Derby's sophomore LP, “Dancing in Death/The Place Where the River Makes a Sound,” was released 13th February, 2021. 

Edgar left the desert and mountains of El Paso for Denton to study music at the University of North Texas. Icons such as George Harrison, Woody Guthrie, and Kurt Cobain musically and poetically influenced him, though his folk-pop style has drawn comparisons to Fleet Foxes and 1970s era Jackson Browne. His raw vocals perhaps more closely resemble contemporaries like Lou Barlow and Shakey Graves. 

Derby released his debut album, “Who we Are,” in 2017. An introspective look at the tendencies of the human race, “Who we Are” is a cohesive collection that borrows from and builds on itself as it explores the nuances of the human condition. The songs are presented in a literary style meant to be enjoyed much as a written novel would, with a Southern familiarity that keeps the lamenting, yet hopeful story accessible. 

“Dancing in Death/The Place Where the River Makes a Sound” picks up the plot where “Who we Are” left off. The 12-song LP develops the story with a richer and grittier instrumentation throughout while maintaining the lyrical folk qualities that have become the signature Edgar Derby sound. The continuing saga has been described as “an indie folk/rock act that’s been contaminated with nuclear fallout and mutated into a cacophonous, harmonically-enriched, thundering cautionary tale,” and “a contender for local album of the year.” 

In a post-pandemic world, Edgar Derby is looking forward to getting back to playing live shows and touring the US as soon as possible, with more recording projects on the near horizon.