Singer and songwriter Trent Dabbs was raised in Jackson, MS, but has been based in Nashville, TN, for his professional career. Working out of a kind of Southern gothic Americana style with pronounced Big Star-like overtones, Dabbs recorded his solo debut, Quite Often, with producers Dennis Herring and Clay Jones, and it was released in 2004 on Herring's Sweet Tea imprint. The album received a good deal of positive critical attention, and songs from it appeared on the soundtracks to television shows The OC and The Mountain as well as earning Dabbs an opening slot with R.E.M. at the legendary Ryman Auditorium. A sophomore release, What's Golden Above Ground, produced by Justin Loucks and Ian Fitchuk, followed in 2006 from Dabbs' own Ready.Set.Records. label.