Poble Sec + Banda en Barcelona, Barcelona

Dry Town are a Barcelona based band who first came together in 2013, united by a love of old-time music and traditional songs. Their sound comes from a blend of influences, and the various strands of folk, gospel, rock and classical that can be heard in their music all leave clues as to the diverse backgrounds of the musicians themselves and where they have come from musically. The band consists of Alex Hearn (lead vocals), Gary Broome (banjo and vocals), Alanna Hanrahan (violin and vocals), David Reeson (bass and vocals) Simon Connolly (guitar and vocals) and Eli Ben Avi (drums, percussion and vocals).
They called themselves Dry Town (a translation from the Catalan Poble Sec) after the name of the neighbourhood in Barcelona where most of the group lived. This was also where they played their first gig together, way up on a rooftop terrace one hot summer evening. The name of the area itself tells something of its history, a population struggling under advancing industrialisation and its demands on the area’s natural resources. This seemed the right fit for the songs the group were playing.
After that first performance, they continued playing at parties and small events around Barcelona, the adopted city they all still call home today. While the gigs got a little bigger, it took a few more years of searching and lots of luck before they found their final two members. Both members have enriched the band’s sound with their own musical history and musicianship which has helped the band find their own voice.
While the group now focus mostly on writing and arranging their own material, their music still manages to capture the spirit of the great folk tradition of the past. Their songs retain a focus on storytelling, an element that is at the heart of all the music that has inspired and influenced them, past and present.