He began playing open-mic nights at local clubs, meeting several like-minded young musicians, among them Sam Bradley, Marcus Foster, Jack Whitehall, and Robert Pattinson, whose careers as actors were just beginning.

"The Bounty of Mary Jane" from Dirty Pond Songs and a live version of his "Being a Mockingbird," recorded at Arlene's Grocery in New York City, were also released via iTunes.

On 23 April 2010, Long officially signed with ATO Records, the label co-founded by musician Dave Matthews and his manager Corin Capshaw.

In July 2011, Long recorded a five-song EP called "The Backing Singer" with violinist Jack Dawson and producer Jesse Lauter, followed by fall shows in Canada, the United States and Europe as part of his "Losing My Brotherhood" tour.

Long started 2012 by recording his second album in Los Angeles, produced by Ted Hutt (Old Crow Medicine Show, Flogging Molly) at Kingsize Studios.

In a departure from music, Long published his first book of poetry called "Losing My Brotherhood" and did a performance/poetry reading at the Barnes and Noble store in Los Angeles.

He toured the U.S. in the spring with a new young band—making two appearances on cable TV's "The Artie Lange Show"—and in the summer with mandolin player Rob Dwyer (of KGB), joined occasionally by violinist Jack Dawson.

The album was recorded in a two-week period in September, produced by Mark Hallman at his Congress House Studios in Austin, Texas.