Red Priest need only gaze into his back yard for a tangible, very large reminder of the days when he and his fellow Songdogs were at the forefront of the local music scene.

There it sits: a big ol’ Greyhound bus, a ‘51 Flexible to be exact.

“If you watch that Taco Bell commercial with Willie Nelson, there’s one in there,” offers the guitarist by way of description.

The Songdogs’ take on a roots music foundation spiked with pop flourishes and fiddle riffs had attracted a sizeable home...