The Lone Bellow is a “Brooklyn country” band that includes members Zach Williams, Brian Elmquist, Kanene Pipkin, and Jason Pipkin. While all members originally hail from the south – Georgia and Virginia – they formed while living in Brooklyn and now call Nashville home.
Before coming together, the band members were leading different lives.
Zach came to music when his wife suffered a tragic accident while they were at his parents’ horse farm in Georgia. In a Facebook post on the band’s page, Zach wrote, “I remember running out into a deathly quiet field after the horse silently came back with no rider. I remember running with my best friend by my side looking for her. We found her and time stood still. The following month was spent in hospitals, preparing for a very different kind of life than what we had pictured.”
They ended up at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, where Zach started putting his thoughts in a journal to help process his grief, often writing in rhyme to help him stay focused. Sharing with friends, they suggested he learn to play guitar and put his words to music. Zach wrote on Facebook, “I went through the different phases of grief over and over again. I would get angry, sad, delusional, then hopeless. This is where I started writing music. This where I had some good friends say to me "If she gets better, let's sell whatever we have and move to New York City." Shortly thereafter my wife started getting the feeling back in her hands. Soon after that she was able to stand up.”
And so they moved to NY to pursue their artistic interests, and Zach spent a few years performing as a solo artist under the name Zach Williams and the Bellow.
Brian, an old friend of Zach’s, was a former football star and performer in a barbershop quartet. He was already in NY, having produced three solo albums of his own.
Kanene and Jason were living in Beijing where they were performing at local clubs and teaching music lessons. Zach and Kanene had crossed paths previously, when Kanene’s brother, who happens to be one of Zach’s best friends, asked the two of them to perform “O Happy Day” together at his wedding. They realized how well they sang together, but with Kanene living in China, further collaboration wasn’t possible at that time. Fortunately, Kanene moved to NY a few years later to attend culinary school.
The Lone Bellow officially came together during an informal meet up in 2010 at Dizzy’s Diner in Brooklyn, where Brian was working. Zach invited Kanene to join them, and after a few songs they realized the music they were making together was special and something they wanted to keep doing.
The band released their self-titled debut album in January, 2013, to favorable reviews, and it was listed on several top album lists of 2013. NPR’s All Songs Considered declared, “The world of acoustic music is about to get a new household name.” In 2015 the band released their critically acclaimed album, "Then Came the Morning," followed by their third album, "Walk Into a Storm," released in 2017.
Before coming together, the band members were leading different lives.
Zach came to music when his wife suffered a tragic accident while they were at his parents’ horse farm in Georgia. In a Facebook post on the band’s page, Zach wrote, “I remember running out into a deathly quiet field after the horse silently came back with no rider. I remember running with my best friend by my side looking for her. We found her and time stood still. The following month was spent in hospitals, preparing for a very different kind of life than what we had pictured.”
They ended up at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, where Zach started putting his thoughts in a journal to help process his grief, often writing in rhyme to help him stay focused. Sharing with friends, they suggested he learn to play guitar and put his words to music. Zach wrote on Facebook, “I went through the different phases of grief over and over again. I would get angry, sad, delusional, then hopeless. This is where I started writing music. This where I had some good friends say to me "If she gets better, let's sell whatever we have and move to New York City." Shortly thereafter my wife started getting the feeling back in her hands. Soon after that she was able to stand up.”
And so they moved to NY to pursue their artistic interests, and Zach spent a few years performing as a solo artist under the name Zach Williams and the Bellow.
Brian, an old friend of Zach’s, was a former football star and performer in a barbershop quartet. He was already in NY, having produced three solo albums of his own.
Kanene and Jason were living in Beijing where they were performing at local clubs and teaching music lessons. Zach and Kanene had crossed paths previously, when Kanene’s brother, who happens to be one of Zach’s best friends, asked the two of them to perform “O Happy Day” together at his wedding. They realized how well they sang together, but with Kanene living in China, further collaboration wasn’t possible at that time. Fortunately, Kanene moved to NY a few years later to attend culinary school.
The Lone Bellow officially came together during an informal meet up in 2010 at Dizzy’s Diner in Brooklyn, where Brian was working. Zach invited Kanene to join them, and after a few songs they realized the music they were making together was special and something they wanted to keep doing.
The band released their self-titled debut album in January, 2013, to favorable reviews, and it was listed on several top album lists of 2013. NPR’s All Songs Considered declared, “The world of acoustic music is about to get a new household name.” In 2015 the band released their critically acclaimed album, "Then Came the Morning," followed by their third album, "Walk Into a Storm," released in 2017.