A year ago, two men mounted the outdoor stage at AthFest armed with only a banjo and a guitar. They appeared amidst low expectations and sweltering heat, hoping to make a mark on the Athens music scene.

“We had only been playing out for a few months and we were lucky enough to be selected to play the acoustic outdoor stage,” said guitarist Dylan Solise. “We were extremely excited about it and I think it went pretty well. The only problem was that it was insanely hot. I seriously thought Drew was going to pass out after we finished playing. But it was great and was one of the first times I really felt like part of the Athens music scene.”

Today Solise and banjo player Drew Carman are frontmen in the four-person band, The Corduroy Road, and they are far from amateurs in the Athens music scene. In the past year TCR has doubled in size with the additions of drummer John Cable and bassist Elijah Neesmith, recorded an album with Athens music legend John Keane (R.E.M., Widespread Panic) and toured the Southeast in what Carman said has been “a very hefty road schedule.”

The band name has earned weight in bluegrass circles, and TCR has shared the stage with notable artists such as The Avett Brothers, Trampled By Turtles and Paleface.

“Our friend Paleface once told us the key to success is ‘one fan at a time,’” Carman said when asked what he attributes the band’s growth in the past year to. “Every show is a success if we can gain one new fan or connect with just one new person.”

Perhaps TCR’s greatest feat has been its new album, “Love is a War,” produced by John Keane. In addition to the band’s return to AthFest’s main outdoor stage, “Love is a War” will be released to the public on Saturday.

“With the new album the music is much more polished and expansive,” Solise said. “We had a few months touring and playing together to really work out our parts before we sat down in the studio; so this is the first representation of TCR as a band instead of an acoustic duo.”

In addition to showcasing the full band, “Love is a War” features performances from Bill Mallonee (Vigilantes of Love), Tim White (Widespread Panic) and even Keane himself.

“John Keane has a personality that is such that he can play the role of the uber-experienced, knowledgeable, tasteful producer/musician while still being incredibly humble,” said Cable. “I’m young and inexperienced in this and all professions, but that combination of positive traits seems rare. We love him.”

Once success hits, it tends to keep moving at an increasingly rapid speed. Although they have had the normal set-backs and struggles of any up-and-coming band, the members of TCR have kept pace with success and will take the stage at AthFest this year as musical veterans.

They have more than exceeded expectations for two bluegrass buddies; now the only thing they have left to conquer seems to be the heat.

Solise has only bright aspirations for the band’s future. “I hope that we can continue writing music that is honest and personally fulfilling and that I can keep traveling and performing with my best friends.”