The climb.
It’s what Echostone, the popular Carolinas-based rock band, finds itself doing day in and day out, week after week, year after year.
Like every band fighting to rise above the noise, Echostone is chasing every opportunity to prove they belong on bigger stages.
While they continue to prove it to their loyal followers and those who discover them at venues across the Southeast, they don’t have to prove anything to some of the biggest names in the industry.
Household names like Chris Daughtry, the late Brad Arnold (3 Doors Down), and Scott Stapp (Creed), have all taken notice of the band and haven’t been shy about shouting them out.
They’ve all publicly praised Echostone, shared their music with fans, and in Stapp’s case, invited them to open multiple shows for him.
That’s a dream scenario for any emerging band.
“He lit a fire under us and really gave us a different kind of confidence than we had going into it,” says Wes DeLoach, Echostone’s lead singer.
DeLoach adds, “Nothing really compares to getting that kind of respect and nod from your idols, the guys we consider to be a big part of the reason we’re doing this in the first place.”
Guitarist Will Driver agrees.
“When you can take the people who wrote the soundtrack to your life and then they become your peers, that means something, right? Outside of friends and family, to get those types of encouraging words from the people that you look up to is special. There were nights where Scott would talk to us backstage and tell us, ‘You’ve got to run this like a business.’ He gave us some of the pointers we really needed to hear. These types of things just don’t happen every day.”
Echostone has also opened for major acts including Filter, Everclear, Ashes to New, Trapt, and Gavin DeGraw.
But that doesn’t mean there still aren’t some backstage jitters before the band takes the stage.
Driver says, “It’s still a big ball of nerves, man. You do all the preparation, you spend so much time rehearsing the songs and trying to get in the right mental state. But it’s indescribable to walk into some of these big venues and think about all the greats you grew up listening to who performed on that stage. Now you’re not just the guy in the crowd anymore. You have the opportunity to be on the stage. There’s a lot that goes on mentally, but you’re also trying to calm your nerves so you’re in a confident headspace. There are so many different emotions, but when you get out there and start playing, you feel like you know everybody in the crowd because they’re having a good time right there with you. It’s a fun time. It really is.”
DeLoach agrees.
“I’d say from the time we have all our gear moved into the venue until we hit that first chord of the first song, it’s a good kind of nervous. It’s the butterflies. Right now I’m the guy in charge of getting all the gear set up, including our in-ear monitor system. I’m making sure everything’s plugged in, nothing’s going to come unplugged, and everything’s taped down. So I’m always thinking about what could go wrong. But I promise you, as soon as I hit that first chord, I’m in it. Everything I was worried about goes out the window, and I’m ready to roll. It’s a blast for me.”
The 9-to-5 Grind
But for all the excitement surrounding Echostone’s rise, there’s a reality that most fans will never see.
Just like the rest of us, they have bills to pay.
Yes, they too do the 9-to-5 grind.
“We all work day jobs,” DeLoach told me. “It’s a grind. But it’s a grind we wouldn’t wish away.”
That attitude is something that stood out to me during my 45-minute interview with DeLoach and Driver.
They’re not the complaining type.
They embrace the grind.
Working all day means they get to work at night.
That’s been their mentality for the past five years.
During our conversation, Driver told me something I hadn’t heard before about the band’s origins.
He spent two decades behind a drum kit before stepping away from music when his daughter was born.
During that time, he picked up a guitar and started writing songs because he says he
wanted to “create something that would outlive me.”
Watching a close friend battle cancer forced Driver to confront the reality that life is temporary.
He wrote three songs.
Then someone suggested he send them to a local recording engineer named Wes DeLoach.
The songs landed in Wes’ inbox.
A few months later, Echostone was born.
What started as a studio project quickly evolved into a real band, eventually adding drummer Bill Celestino and bassist Shawn Kowalski to the lineup.
For nearly two years, they focused almost entirely on recording music and producing videos.
Then opportunity knocked.
In 2023, they landed an opening slot with Ashes to New.
Before long, they found themselves opening for Scott Stapp.
Multiple times.
But ironically, one of the hardest periods for Echostone came right after touring with Stapp.
They thought the touring floodgates would open wide.
Instead, no flood.
Not even a drip.
Nothing was happening.
Shows weren’t materializing.
Why?
It’s the reality many up and coming artists discover pretty quickly.
Venues get booked months in advance.
Sometimes way in advance.
If you don’t get in early, you miss opportunities.
Unfortunately, Echostone missed plenty.
The Video Shoot & The Funeral
But missing an opportunity for a gig is one thing.
Missing your father is something entirely different.
Earlier this year, Wes’ dad passed away.
He was more than a proud parent; he was one of the band’s biggest champions, encouraging them every step of the way.
He would comment on every post, celebrate every milestone, and constantly remind his son and his bandmates that bigger things were coming.
Just one day after his funeral, Wes had a difficult decision to make.
A music video shoot for their song Better Days had already been scheduled.
Out of love and respect, everyone involved offered to postpone.
But here’s the thing.
That song happened to be the last one Wes would ever share with his father.
And in his heart, he knew exactly what his dad would have wanted.
“He would have wanted us to shoot the damn thing,” Wes told me.
“We had the funeral, and then I came home and dealt with that for a few hours. Then I started figuring out which guitar I was going to bring with me the next day. It was a lot, but we did it. I was able to put a lot of that into the performance the next day. I think what helped me get through it was seeing everybody and doing something fun with my friends that I love.”
Driver says, “It wasn’t until the day of the video shoot that I was able to see him, and I could tell in his heart that he was ready to do this and had his reasons for doing it. We were going to do whatever it took to make it happen. I’m glad we did because it’ll be something he can always look back on and remember what he was going through when he performed it. You never want to experience what is probably the hardest thing you’ll ever have to do, but damn, it’s been a wild ride.”
Echo Army
When our conversation turned to their fans, there was an unmistakable sense of gratitude in their voices.
They’ve built an incredibly loyal fan base known as the “Echo Army.”
Their supporters have watched them play small local gigs and then graduate to bigger venues, including House of Blues stages throughout the South.
Most recently, the band played what they describe as their best show yet at House of Blues Orlando.
“Magical, magical, man. It was great,” says DeLoach. “It was our second time at the House of Blues in Orlando. I don’t think we expected just how awesome it would turn out. The crowd was there for us, and we had a cool connection with everybody there. We had a 30-minute set planned, but we’re buddies with the staff over there. We talked them into giving us an extra five minutes, and then we ended up going another five. We played about 40 minutes. We’re starting to get to the point where we’re recording and releasing more and more music. Now our catalog is so big that it’s tough to whittle it down to four or five songs if you have a 30-minute slot. We fought to get an extra song or two in there, and it worked out in our favor. We had a blast.”
The Future
Echostone has a number of tour dates on the schedule for the remainder of 2026.
What do Wes and Will hope people will say about their band a decade from now?
Wes says he hopes people say they “paid their dues and did it the right way.”
Will hopes the band achieves the kind of success where people are still talking about them ten years from now.
“Hopefully they’re like, ‘Hey, we’re going to see Echostone play Madison Square Garden.’ I hope people appreciate that these guys wrote timeless songs. Songs that came from a real place. Songs that are just as valid today as they were back then.”
Driver isn’t shy about saying he hopes Echostone becomes the biggest band in the world.
It doesn’t hurt that the band is collaborating with Chet Roberts, the former guitarist for 3 Doors Down and current co-owner of 4th Door Media.
“I love the conversations we’ve had with Chet Roberts so far,” says DeLoach. “Right now, we’re bouncing ideas off each other. It’s almost like we’re in a pre-production phase. Chet’s great, man. He’s got a lot of experience, a great set of ears, and he’s so musically talented. He’s also just a fun dude to shoot the shit with and talk music on the phone. It’s all conversation right now, but we’re looking forward to getting in there and actually working together.”
There’s even serious talk of Roberts joining the band onstage at a future show. Imagine Roberts playing alongside Echostone as they pay tribute to 3 Doors Down, something the band does regularly.
“Just the thought of that blows my mind,” says Driver. “Wes and I have had the conversation plenty of times that one of the bucket-list things we wanted to do was open for Three Doors. We knew it was a possibility. Brad said he’d love to have us if we ever did. Unfortunately, that can’t happen now. But to be onstage with Chet and play a couple of those songs? That’s just as good. As far as I’m concerned, that’s another one of those boxes you check.”
Echostone is checking a lot of boxes these days.
And there is little question, “Better Days” are right around the corner.
To learn more about Echostone, listen to their music, or see upcoming tour dates, visit: