The Casey Donahew Band will be performing Thursday, Dec. 5, at the First Avenue Club in Iowa City, accompanied by Matt Stell.

The band is comprised of six members; A.C. Copeland, J.J. Soto, Josh Moore, Steve Stone, TAZ and Casey Donahew.

The front man of the band, Casey Donahew, grew up in a suburb of Fort Worth, Texas. He started writing songs in high school and started playing the guitar in college.

Donahew attended Texas A&M, but later transferred to the University of Texas at Arlington, where he graduated with a degree in finance.

“I didn’t have a music career plan, I was always into finance and money and numbers,” Donahew said.

Even though he enjoyed working with numbers, Donahew decided the music scene was the place for him.

On the band’s current tour and any potential tours to come, fans should look forward to variety of songs.

“We always do just a variety of everything. It keeps everybody entertained, and there is something for everybody,” Donahew said.

The Casey Donahew Band has toured through Iowa before, having previously played in Ames and Iowa City.

As for special guests and surprises, “I don’t even know who’s playing,” Donahew said jokingly. “We just put on our A game for 90 minutes and strive to entertain people.”

Donahew has done some collaborative work with other artists such as fellow Texan Cody Johnson. The two released a song this time last year called “When Santa Rides Through Texas.”

“It kind of came together really fast,” Donahew Commented. “It’s about the things about Texas that [Santa] loves.”

Past relationships are the most notable source that Donahew pulls inspirations from, but there are other just as significant places.

“I kind of let it come to me,” he said. “A lot of things I see and want to discuss.”

The Casey Donahew band released their most recent album, “Standoff,” in April this year.

“The focus now is on touring. We will wait till the end of this year, but another live record is possible,” Donahew said.

“I don’t know how long this ride will last. It’s getting harder and harder to sell records, with [online music radios, such as] Pandora. … Live shows are the future of the music business.”