Evolution may leave a lot on the cutting room floor, but it always preserves what is essential—not just for survival, but for the self.

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For nearly a decade, two dueling guitarists and songwriters, Austin Smith and Mark Tegio, built the backbone of their namesake outfit, honing their hard-worn Americana songwriting. Their music shaped by years of troubadouring up and down I-5, from San Diego to Seattle.

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Over time, their sound evolved from its more folk roots, inspired by the likes of Doc & Merle Watson and their guitar interplay, as well as mining the lines left by Townes Van Zandt and Blaze Foley, trying to learn the lessons those broken heroes left behind. As Smith and Tegio split their time between Portland and Santa Cruz, a new crew of musicians entered the Central California mix, expanding their sound in ways the duo perhaps didn’t know they needed—until they knew they did.

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Enter The Lowtimers. This new 5-piece band—Tegio (guitar and vocals), Smith (guitar, vocals and harmonica), Tim Kelso (drums), Andrew Dreher (bass and harmonies), and Payton Vermeesch (pedal steel)—remain rooted in soulful Americana, but they now lay it over a new sonic landscape, injecting fresh empathy and drive into songs that paint wise western portraits of lives and loves on the road to redemption, where the goal is less about prosperity and more about peace of mind.

We may remember the past, but we should never forget what the future may hold. To be open and honest with art, it’s evolve or creatively die. And often, evolution delivers an entirely new animal.

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The Lowtimers released their first two singles, “Thunderstorms,” on January 31 and "Flesh and Bone" on February 28th. Their debut album, Cracks, is set to be released on May 16.

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-Adam Spangler