Best known as the singer/songwriter behind Collective Soul, Ed Roland struck out on his own in the second decade of the new millennium. Roland had a long musical history prior to Collective Soul. He was a student at Boston's Berklee College of Music in the late '80s, and then he started his professional career, first releasing Ed-E Roland in 1991. Not long afterward, he decided to channel his creativity through the name Collective Soul, releasing the band's debut Hints, Allegations Things Left Unsaid on an independent Georgia label called Rising Storm in 1993. "Shine," the first single from the record," started to get play in Georgia and Florida and, before long, the group signed with Atlantic Records and their debut received a national release in 1994.

"Shine" helped bring Collective Soul to a wide audience and, over the next few years, the group racked up the modern rock hits. They continued to release new albums through 2009, and after the 2009 record Collective Soul, the group split. Not long afterward, Roland formed Ed Roland the Sweet Tea Project, a group that made its debut via a cover of "Shelter from the Storm" on the 2012 Bob Dylan tribute Chimes of Freedom; they released their debut album, Devils 'N Darlins, in September of 2013. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi