Skip to main content6–10: Cruise Control
Sounds like: Driving through a field of sunflowers.
First time I saw Cruise Control was a couple of years back at the Laurelthirst Pub. I was there to check out a folk rock band called Smile Pile but wound up falling in love with both. Cruise Control is a delightful blend of country and pop, of rock and shoegaze—and a real kick in the teeth. Each band member is an entertaining performer, the group’s chemistry is charming, and their lyrics? Refreshing.
What’s sweeter still are the harmonies between the band’s two guitarists: Portland-born Lee Butterfield and Izzy Dupuis from Connecticut, the band’s main songwriters. Butterfield and Dupuis first formed the band during the pandemic, when their punk bands All Hits and Trash, respectively, could no longer play in public and soon dismembered.
“After that I was kinda lost for a little bit,” Dupuis says. “I never thought I could branch out into other genres, at first. I didn’t think I was good enough to play more melodic music with more intricate guitar parts.” Turns out, they were wrong.
Once the duo realized they might have something, Butterfield’s partner, Portland engineer Penny Olives, offered to help record some demos. Soon, Olives agreed to play drums for the now-trio. “Once live shows started coming up again, it worked out naturally to have Tim (Daylight) join in on bass,” Dupuis says. And with that, Cruise Control was official.
After turning from punk to acoustic, Dupuis says, “I particularly fell in love with country music and realized that’s what I really wanted to do.” So, they leaned into the country life, but added a lot of flourishes from various rock and pop genres to give their sound something unique.
The Laurelthirst Pub soon became the bands’ favorite music venue in town, and at the start of 2025 they began a residency at the joint, every other first Friday night. Their next show is June 6 with Bay Area country crooner Josiah Flores.
This fall, Cruise Control will release their sophomore album, Time Is an Angel, and embark on a tour come September. While they can’t release news of their potential new label, the band is stoked to get back on the road, where listeners can keep up with them via their Instagram, @Ready_set_cruisecontrol.