Brother-and-sister singer-songwriters Max Dasher and Laela Dasher have spent their first months on tour squeezing gear into a Volkswagen, opening for Larry Fleet and learning how to protect two young marriages while chasing a country dream.
“There’s an extra level of accountability when you’re doing it with your brother,” Laela said during a recent episode of the UNASHAMED podcast.
The siblings behind Dasher the Band joined “Unashamed” podcast co-hosts Zach Dasher, Jase Robertson and Al Robertson for a candid conversation about sudden opportunity, young marriage and putting faith ahead of success. The band’s official biography describes Max and Laela as Louisiana-raised musicians whose family moved to North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains when they were preteens.
They learned harmony while singing a cappella in church, then blended those roots with Appalachian storytelling. Now both are newlyweds, and the duo is learning how to build a home life while crisscrossing the country.
The whirlwind began when country singer-songwriter Larry Fleet called Max after the two met during an earlier podcast taping. Fleet invited Dasher the Band to open on tour, and Max accepted before he could be asked twice — or even check a calendar.
Max and Laela have since packed their equipment into a Volkswagen, played rooms far larger than anything they knew before and watched listeners wipe away tears during their original song “Grandpa Clocks and Gravestones.” Their current schedule shows more dates supporting Fleet this fall, along with shows featuring Kameron Marlowe and Dustin Lynch.
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“They hear Jesus, too. And it’s really impactful for people,” Laela said of concertgoers who arrive expecting a country show. She and Max recalled audiences raising their hands during the hymn “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?,” which the duo added to its set.
Fleet liked the hymn so much that he invited them to return at the end of his show for “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” The siblings said that moment confirmed country music could carry good stories and gently point listeners toward Christ without turning every song into a sermon.
“We want to be storytellers because that’s what our king was and still is,” Max said, connecting their songwriting to the parables of Jesus.
That purpose also shapes the family operation they hope to build. Max and Laela said they want their spouses involved whenever possible, and they pray new opportunities will strengthen rather than split the people they love.
“It was a great thing we were doing, but we weren’t really doing it together,” Zach said of the pressure ministry once placed on his own young marriage. He and his wife eventually adjusted their routine so their calling would not leave their relationship behind.
Zach added that marriage and ministry require a process, and learning to enjoy the bumpy stretches helps build something stable.
Dasher the Band closed the episode with acoustic performances of “Ouachita Woods” and “Grandpa Clocks and Gravestones.” The duo also released its latest single, “You’re an Oak,” on Aug. 28 — one more song in a career the siblings hope to grow without losing the faith and family that gave them a voice in the first place.
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