“You could file Driven Serious under the banner of folk-rock; but they are so much than that. They have a vibrancy that you can virtually see thrumming off them when they play, passionate and with the handbrake well and truly off, and with a vibe that has had people likening them to The Levellers to The Pogues to The Smiths to The Wonderstuff…” – The Crack Magazine
“Look On These Works is an incredibly engaging listen, whether it’s the monumental sounding strings that carry us through this adventure, or the war-like drums at the start of the title track, it’s an impressive experience.” – Narc
North-East punk-folk outfit Driven Serious has been gigging in the North East and beyond since 2011.
Its current line-up combines pairs long-time members frontman and songwriter Rob Jones and bassist and multi-instrumentalist Tim Packer. Sinéad Livingston joined in 2018, bringing keyboard, vocals and song-writing. Joining at the end of 2024, we have Divide di Castro on drums. On fiddle, we now have Sol Sayal, playing the majority of dates, with Oz Tabor and Penny Kempson also standing in.
The band’s first album, The Importance of Being Serious, was released in 2013, and followed in 2016 with the Ballad of Bones EP, featuring new music as well as live tracks from headlining gigs at the Cluny in Newcastle and the Twisted Lip in Middlesborough. In 2022, this was followed by their second album, Look On These Works.