Newly formed in 2010, The Grand Nationals is the brainchild of long time musical comrades Adam Honeycutt (vocals, guitar, organ) and Ian Bennett (vocals, guitar, percussion). Both Honeycutt and Bennett had been working towards solo projects but eventually came to the realization they might have something special in collaborating together. With this, they brought in Sam Barnes (vocals, violin) and Jay Harris (bass) and it was official.
Honeycutt and Bennett discovered that their combined appreciation for singer-songwriters and ballads contributed a new dimension to the original concept for The Grand Nationals, which was an authentic old country band. With each of them writing both the music and the lyrics, inspired by the likes of Van Morrison, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan (amongst many others), they resurrected the spirit of folk, country, and southern rock while still staying relevant to a burgeoning indie scene.
Philadelphia based promoters, R5 Productions, said their sound is Ryan Adams meets the Allman Brothers, but as Honeycutt has admitted, with Andy Keenan featured on the steel pedal and Barnes on violin, the sound definitely retains its country twang. Bennett adds,“Sam adds a lot on the record and at the live show to what the band can do musically...he's undeniably great at the violin...it doesn't hurt to have someone whose a monster at his craft playing right next to you.” – The Examiner.com “Local Band Spotlight”

Part of a new swath of young artists emerging in the Philadelphia
...folk scene, Black Horse Motel features four musicians, erratum, four
diligent worker bees, drawing on rich traditions in western and
eastern folk music to create (hopefully) warming, accessible and
fervent songs. It remains to be seen what the future holds for these
four hopeful troubadours, but they have certainly begun finding their
voice.

Springtime 2010, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After several lineup
changes and countless auditions, the right combination of people came
together to form Black Horse Motel as it stands today. Although only
together for a few months, the band has engineered a sound that
reflects a natural familiarity between musicians who have played
together much longer. They sing, they dance, they blend their
respective instruments and creative voices into a single, cohesive and
cogent concoction.