TIFTON — After devoting his life to making music, Tifton native Derrick Dove and his band are going to be releasing their first album Friday, Feb. 23.

The album, which is simply titled “Derrick Dove and the Peacemakers,” is an amalgamation of the road Dove has traveled so far, from his first band until now.

“Growing up I loved everything,” he said, explaining that his dad was a DJ as well as playing in a band, which exposed him to a wide variety of music.

“My first big music love as a kid was Little Richard, and then I got into Jimi Hendrix and from that I delved into Stevie Ray Vaughn and some of the more contemporary guys. Muddy Waters, Santana, Bob Seger. Otis Redding is one of my favorite singers of all time.”

Dove said that while he was in high school he would get into arguments with his family because they would ask what he was going to go to college for, and he insisted that he wasn’t going to go to college. “I said, ‘no, I’m just going to play guitar,’” he remembers. “That didn’t go over too well.”

After playing in other bands for years, Dove and his wife Kimberly moved back to South Georgia, where he put together a cover band with a very eclectic set list.

They spent several years refining their sound and direction while playing restaurants and weddings around the area.

“We knew we could make a living doing that if we put our mind to it,” he said.

Dove had been writing original songs for years, and he and the band had been practicing their own music when they weren’t working paying gigs when an opportunity to record came up.

Dove and the band took a year to finish the album and produce the album.

Dove said that this is the next step in a long term career that he wants to last the rest of his life.

“I’m all in on this,” he said, “and everyone’s family is too. Its not just me, it’s a band effort. They are my backbone and I couldn’t do what I do without them.”

The other members of the band are Jamie Richardson (drums), Don Hill III (bass) and Johnathan ‘JT’ Thomas (keyboard).

“My definition of success, and our definition as a band, is if I can make a living playing music that I write and it touches people and I can support my family, that’s all I want.

“If I could tour playing our music all over the world, thats what it’s about.”

The release party is set for 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23 at the Tifton Museum of Arts and Heritage.

Tickets are $10 at Eventbrite.com.

Follow Eve Guevara on Twitter @EveGuevaraTTG.