Driftwood’s founding members, Joe Kollar and Dan Forsyth, started making music as high schoolers in Joe’s parents’ basement.

Today, the upstate New York folk rock group also includes violinist Claire Byrne, bassist Joey Arcuri, and drummer Sam Fishman, and whether they are converting new fans on a hardscrabble tour across the country or playing to a devoted crowd at hero Levon Helm’s Woodstock barn, the band’s shapeshifting approach to folk music continues to break new ground.

Driftwood’s latest work is the transformative December Last Call. Lyrically this album reflects on the recent past, while sonically it looks confidently to the future. The band often leans into hard-rocking electric guitars and driving percussion: On “Every Which Way But Loose,” we get a foot-tapping beat and a sweeping chorus, and on “Up All Night Blues,” the band shines with an ambling, sing-along-able reflection on the challenges of new motherhood. But other tracks, like standout closer “Stardust,” take a simpler route, allowing bare-bones vocals and acoustic instrumentals to underpin a deeper emotional message.

Perhaps Driftwood’s biggest strength is the breadth of talent in its lineup, with Claire, Joe, and Dan all contributing as songwriters and vocalists. This creative push-pull, where each selects songs to share and record together, bakes vulnerability and collaborative spirit into every recording.

“It’s at the heart of what we do,” says Dan. “Everybody has a strong love for songs, for songwriting, and we each appreciate everybody else and the way that they contribute to that.”

Driftwood Folk Rock on Saturday, May 9, 2026, 8:00 p.m.

Driftwood’s live shows operate not only as effervescent, twang-studded musical parties, but also as reunions for their devoted listeners—folks who have started to feel less like fans and more like something bigger. It’s as if every listener, ticket buyer, album backer, and general band evangelist is in on Driftwood’s biggest secret: this whole band thing has endured for nearly two decades because it offers a kind of community you can’t get just anywhere.

Unity Hall offers the same kind of community, and is eager to welcome Driftwood to Barneveld. The performance begins at 8:00 PM, at Unity Hall, 101 Vanderkemp Ave, Barneveld. Details and tickets for this event are available at https://www.unityhall.com/driftwood.

Unity Hall members can purchase tickets for $30 and enjoy early seating. Tickets are $35 for non-members. An accessible entrance is at the rear of the building, and the concert will be simulcast to the first floor for those who can’t maneuver the stairs to the upstairs theater.

This event is made possible through the support of Unity Hall Foundation members and funding from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a regrant initiative of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, administered by CNY Arts.

For more information about Unity Hall events and membership, visit www.unityhall.com, follow us on Facebook at HistoricUnityHall, or check out our Instagram at unityhallbarneveld.