Eli Young Band to perform at Riverside Casino & Golf Resort

In an age of microwavable recording artists, it's not surprising to witness fledgling entertainers catapulted to stardom via TikTok and YouTube. However, for many of those emerging artists, the ride can be fleeting.

And then there are recording artists who pay their dues and slug it out for years on the club circuit and finally hit commercial paydirt.

The Eli Young Band is in the latter camp. The veteran group reached success the old fashioned way by grinding it out for more than a decade after forming in Denton, Texas in 2000.

After releasing three albums and playing countless concerts, the group jumped to another echelon with its 2014 release "10,000 Towns."

The album's initial single, "Drunk Last Night," hit the top of the Country Airplay chart, and "10,000 Towns" debuted at the top of the Billboard's Top Country Album Chart.

It took 15 years for the act to finally make that enviable leap into the mainstream.

"We've had some success," bassist Jon Jones said. "But it all comes back to what we do on stage."

The Eli Young Band, which also includes vocalist-guitarist Mike Eli, guitarist James Young and drummer Chris Thompson, has put in the work, and it's evident when the group performs.

It's obvious that the Eli Young Band, which will play Friday at Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, has been road-tested. The group is tight, unflappable and engages the audience.

"We started as a touring act," Jones said while calling from Texas. "We made one fan at a time like that, and we learned our craft. I think it's a good way to start. We played a lot of shows in our area, in Dallas, Denton and Fort Worth. So did Miranda Lambert. She was doing the same kind of showcases."

After releasing their debut album "Level" in 2005, the Eli Young Band opened for Lambert.

"But her rise was more rapid," Jones said. "We had the more slow, rock 'n' roll kind of route, which was fine by us. We were doing what we loved the whole time. We definitely paid our dues, and we became a better band because of it."

The group made its first album in a friend's basement.

"We sold that album out of the back of a car to whoever would listen to it," Jones said. "We took small steps. It was a slow process, but we were always moving in the right direction."

Unlike the recording artists who hit early and were a flash in the pan, The Eli Young Band was like the tortoise who won the long race.

"We ended up having a career, which is so gratifying," Jones said. "It's all about being able to do this for a long time as opposed to making that big splash. I'd rather have what we have than be huge for a short time."

It all worked out for the Eli Young Band, which has charted eight times on the Billboard Country charts. Four of their singles reached the top spot. "Even if it Breaks Your Heart," "Drunk Last Night," "Love Ain't" and the infectious "Crazy Girl" hit the apex of the Country Singles chart. The latter was the top country song of 2011, according to Billboard.

"There's nothing like hearing your song on the radio," Jones said. "That never gets tired. When 'Crazy Girl' went number one, that changed everything. We went from being a band just trudging along to reaching another level."

The Eli Young Band has returned to its roots with the powerful, gritty and defiant "Strange Hours," which was released in August. The band isn't chasing the charts while following its collective heart. The band's latest batch of tunes are catchy, clever and heartfelt.

"We love what we're doing just like we did when we started when we were students (at the University of North Texas). It's been the same four guys since day one and we're still together and growing,“ Jones said.