Artist Interview: Happy Curmudgeons

Featured on The Compassion Project: Songs for Animals, Humans, and Earth Justice Formed in metro Detroit by songwriter Dave Hamilton, Happy Curmudgeons is a dynamic collective known for blending folk rock, soul, and blues with heartfelt, socially conscious songwriting. Their latest track “Be Kind,” featured on The Compassion Project, is an uplifting anthem that calls for empathy and connection. With a history of collaborations that includes legends like Billy Cox, Dave McMurray, and Jim “Moose” Brown, the band continues to build momentum with their second album 2nd Chances, released in 2024 on Spectra Music Group. At the heart of their music is a simple mission: to create songs with love and meaning that move both hearts and minds.

Was there something or someone who was the "catalyst" for you to go into music?The Happy Curmudgeons started by Dave Hamilton's vision. He and Jeff Warner wrote original songs together and play music deep in passion. The group was started to play with other musicians and create songs the band loved. They thought if the music sounds good to us, someone or some people might think the same.

Let's get this out of the way. What is the craziest thing that has ever happened in your music career? The craziest thing is getting Billy Cox from the Band Of Gypsys to play on Rustic Glory. Dave sent him the song and he was interested. Landing Bobby Balderrama to play the solo on Rustic Glory was amazing too. Bobby cowrote 96 Tears which was a number one song in 1966. We also were lucky enough to watch our second album being pressed at Third Man Records in Detroit. Dave met Jack White at an event and the Happy Curmudgeons had all of their songs mastered at Third Man Records.

What has been the highlight of your music path? The highlight so far is creating music with love without outside interference. We are very proud of our second album, 2nd Chances. We signed with Spectra Music Group in 2024 and look forward to making more original music.

How do you approach songwriting or what is your creative process like? Dave dreams lyrics, Jeff has songs from the past 30 years, Amy Dixon-Lavery also writes lyrics (she wrote 2nd Chances). Dave and Jeff will start with a demo they do with our producer, Mark Byerly. Mark Byerly is the secret Happy Curmudgeon that turns the wheels. We get the other musicians together and work on a song until we can play it start to finish.

Do you have a new release? 2nd Chances was released at the end of 2024. It is our second album and our first one with the Spectra Music Group. The songs on the album have been played over 1 million times on Spotify. We also have official videos of Rustic Glory, Reluctant Prophets, I Know How You Feel, Jack Russell & U.S. Healthcare Blues on YouTube. We were able to do a limited run of red vinyl albums with Third Man Records. We still have some copies available on our website – www.happycurmudgeonsband.com currently.

If you could share the stage or a song session with an artist, who would it be? It was amazing to have Billy Cox, Jim Moose Brown & Bobby Balderrama on Rustic Glory. We still would love to do a song with Bob Seger or Bob Dylan. Either Bob works for us! Jack White would be a great guy to do a song with as well.

For fans who have never heard your music, how would you describe your sound?You just need to listen to the songs. We blend several genres together — classic rock, country, blues — and come up with a type of Americana that works for us. The listener will be on a ride from start to finish if they listen to the whole 2nd Chances album. We are very proud of the songs.

What is your favorite part about being an artist? Is it songwriting, performing, producing...something else? favorite thing is to be able to play music we love. It is truly a magical feeling to hear a crowd sing your songs or tell us what song they like best. We play music with the love we put into it. We want that love to come through on the tracks.

When you are not doing music, what else do you enjoy doing? Going to see other musicians, listening to music and hanging out with friends & family.

What is coming up in the future for you? We are currently working on songs for the third album. This is the current lineup for the Happy Curmudgeons – Dave Hamilton (vocals & guitar), Amy Dixon-Lavery (vocals), Jeff Warner (vocals, guitar & mandolin), Dawson Rogers (keyboards, vocals, guitar, harmonica, sax), Eli Campioni (bass), and Noah Campioni (drums).

Any additional information you would like fans to know? Please feel free to contact us at happycurmudgeonsband@gmail.com. We will try to respond to every question. Let us know a cool venue or town we should put on our map.

About Happy Curmudgeons Happy Curmudgeons is a Detroit-based band blending folk rock, soul, and blues with messages of love and social impact. Their song “Be Kind,” featured on The Compassion Project, calls for empathy and compassion toward all beings. The band’s second album, 2nd Chances, was released in partnership with Spectra Music Group and has reached over 1 million streams on Spotify. Collaborating with world-class musicians, Happy Curmudgeons continues to create original music that speaks to the heart of humanity.

Links:

• Website: www.happycurmudgeonsband.com

• Spotify: Happy Curmudgeons on Spotify

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#HappyCurmudgeons #BeKind #TheCompassionProject