[1] Adams co-produced their 2003 debut album with Mitchell Froom,[2] and toured extensively for the next year and a half with acts including Lucinda Williams, Tracy Chapman, Joan Baez and Nelly Furtado.
Their single "You Dance" was a #1 AAA radio hit (top 5 for 2 months) in 2003[1] and eastmountainsouth performed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on September 24, 2003.
[3] DreamWorks Records was sold to Universal Music Group in October 2003, which shifted their rights to different labels until Adams and eastmountainsouth eventually negotiated their official release.
[citation needed] A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Adams credits his grandfather, a former professional jazz clarinetist and accomplished pianist, as being his earliest musical inspiration.
Based on the response from this release, Adams was named "Notable New Artist of the Year" in 2006 by The Loft (Sirius XM) Satellite Radio.
[citation needed] In November 2008, Adams was named by The Wall Street Journal as one of the "21st-century writers whose songs are worth exploring", and as having "a way with melody and lyrics ... ready to be seen and heard".