On March 1, 2018, R5's Instagram and Twitter handles were changed to The Driver Era and all of R5's previous posts were deleted. On March 2, 2018, Ross announced via Instagram story that The Driver Era would be a band consisting of him and his brother Rocky. On the same day as their social media changes, previews of their debut single "Preacher Man" were posted on Twitter and Instagram. The name 'The Driver Era' came from a conversation between Rocky and Ross during a car ride to a party, and the brothers agreed that this name encompassed where their music was headed.[failed verification]
On March 16, 2018, they released "Preacher Man", along with its video a few weeks later. This single was met with high amounts of praise from the alternative/indie music scene. The video was based around a mixture of religions and sins. "Preacher Man" became the band's iconic song from the offing, the band having only released that song for a long period of time. The band also teased "Mary Jane", a song which was performed by Rocky but has never been released. This song was suspected to be their next single but that never came around.
On May 25, 2018, The Driver Era released two special remixes of "Preacher Man".
On August 24, 2018, The Driver Era released a new single, "Afterglow", originally being released via YouTube before eventually being put onto Spotify. Along this period, the band also leaked their own song "My Silver Lining Is Overdue", a track which was due to be used in the film "Turnover" featuring band member and brother, Riker Lynch.