The Lone Bellow Fan Community - Tree To Grow

Some great interviews

1/31/2015

As expected, The Lone Bellow is getting a lot of attention these days. We're a little embarrassed to admit how much time we've spent online trying to read everything they're mentioned in. We just don't want to miss anything! Of course, not everything we read about the band sticks with us, but we did really enjoy these two articles that surfaced this week.

When you see The Lone Bellow perform live, it's quite obvious how much fun they have together, and how they most definitely care deeply for one another. We loved reading this Paste article, which perfectly captures the bond they share. It's really one of the best things we've read about the band. This article also reminded us of the "Return to Brooklyn" video, which gives a little glimpse into their lives as New Yorkers.

We also really enjoyed this interview from Johnathan Bernstein at CMT Edge. In this piece, the band talks about the connection between their fans and their music, and they are, as always, incredibly humble.

Have You Met The Lone Bellow?

1/30/2015

In our previous post, we wrote about our appreciation for the time and graciousness The Lone Bellow members give to fans. One way (possibly our favorite way!) they do this is by sticking around for "meet and greets" after their shows. We see how much of themselves they put into their shows, and can only imagine how exhausted they must feel after, yet they still come out and shake many, many hands, and accept hugs, stories, and chitchat from adoring fans. They give each fan plenty of their time and attention, and never seem to rush anyone along.

We've been honored to meet them several times, and are always amazed that they seem to remember us. We always approach with the intention of thanking them for the show, and perhaps to express gratitude for their music or awe for their talent. But we also tend to feel some apprehension, wondering if maybe this time we shouldn't take up their time, and some nervousness - I've acted like a big dork plenty of times around them. Also, we don't want them to think we are totally stalking them since we go to so many shows! But our desire to shake their hands and say "thank you" has almost always won out, and we are always glad we stuck around.

How about you? Do you say hello to the band after their shows? Do you have any memorable stories to share about meeting them?

Kanene was not at all impressed with Zach's mustache after this show at Mohegan Sun in September, 2014.

Message to Fans from The Lone Bellow

1/30/2015

Hey Guys,

The past 12 months have been a beautiful collision of writing, touring, and collaborating. We've had the great honor of making our new record with producer Aaron Dessner, engineer Jon Low, and mixer Peter Katis.

After several months of work, we finally released our new record titled "Then Came The Morning" just a couple days ago. The response has been absolutely overwhelming. Thank you for all of your encouragement and help with spreading the word! We don't want this time of celebration to slip by without acknowledging everything that has gone into the present. You all have been an incredible support for us. Because of listeners like you, we truly felt the freedom to make the album we wanted to make: an album that might be hard to put into a genre, an album whose songs and sonics came from pure imagination and freedom. You are a major part of that being able to happen.

"Then Came The Morning" is available on iTunes and Amazon, as well as at Target, Barnes and Noble, and local record shops all over. The MP3 version is nice, but we would like to encourage you to get the physical copy.

We collaborated with our good friend and photographer Mackenzie Rollins to help us capture the vibe of the physical copy.

Mackenzie flew down to the Deep South with one thing in mind--to help capture the visual aesthetic of what we've been referring to as "Southern Gothic" in our record. This term floated around quite a bit during the recording process. Many of the songs from the album come from stories of our own family members and heroes from our roots. Mackenzie went to the homes of the actual people that some of the songs were written about. She has a specific way of documenting moments and a strong discipline of listening. She rented a car and drove all around the physical places where the distant memories of our roots still live: Lafayette and White, Georgia; Dixie Speedway, Old Car USA, and Louise's Diner in Marietta. She would spend hours just sitting and waiting for a conversation to come to her. For instance, the front cover of our album is the product of spending several mornings in a row at Louise's Diner. The beautiful soul in the picture is a woman she met who spends each morning eating breakfast there.

We intentionally sought Mackenzie out because we wanted to pay our respects to the quiet, beautiful, soul-stirring, mundane stories of our roots. Those pictures only live inside the physical copies of our album.

Thank you for telling your friends and family about our new record. We are honored that you listen to our music and can't wait to see how you make these songs your own.

Peace.
Zach, Kanene, and Brian
The Lone Bellow

One of the things we especially appreciate about The Lone Bellow has been how incredibly gracious they are with their fans. It comes out in their interactions with the audiences during their shows, they've spoken favorably of their fans in interviews, and we can't think of any show we've attended that they haven't given so much of their time meeting fans after. So it was much appreciated, though not surprising, to find a note from the band, sent out to their mailing list, thanking fans for their support. They also talk about the album's photographer, Mackenzie Rollins, and her process.

Here is the full note, in case you haven't seen it:

At the end, they share a link to the gallery from their photo shoot during the album's recording session at Dreamland. Be sure to check it out because the photos are stunning.

The Reviews Are In

1/29/2015

We hope you've got some time to read because the reviews for Then Came the Morning just keep coming! Today The Lone Bellow shared this Wall Street Journal article by Jim Fusilli, in which he calls Then Came the Morning "the year's first great album." We loved reading this review and have been scouring the internet for more. If you're not quite as crazy as us and don't feel the need to read every single thing written about The Lone Bellow, then we're happy to provide you with the highlights. We'd also love to hear your own album review. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, on our Facebook page, or on the forum!

Jason Greenspan of Baeble Music, writes:
"Then Came the Morning provides respite for weary ears in a musical climate that can seem overwhelmingly negative. The second album from The Lone Bellow sweeps you up in a tumult of powerful positivity, roots rock, and southern charm." Read the entire review here.

Beth Kellmurray at Diffuser FM writes:
"While every song shows the trio's ability to build momentum, they also show a versatility on 'Then Came the Morning'-- from the delicate, Pipkin-led ballad, 'Call to War,' to the rollicking call-and-response heard on ‘Heaven Don’t Call Me Home.’ The bluesy ‘Cold As It Is,’ however, is perhaps most exemplary of what the Lone Bellow really are: A trio of country powerhouses who can seamlessly blend their vocals into one unstoppable entity." Read the entire review here.

The folks at Culture Collide have this to say:
"If you were hooked on lead singer Zach Williams' strong and authentic voice before, there's even more this time around. There's also a little more variation, for example, with "Call To War" featuring a female vocalist rather than a male. The album as a whole also blossoms more and explores more facets within the band's overarching sound." The full review is here.

Finally, Paul Hollingsworth at Earbuddy writes this:
"The lavish harmonies of the trio still soar at all the right places (“Marietta”), break at exactly the right times (“If You Don’t Love Me”), and remain front-and-center on every song. Even when the band abandons its country sound entirely for a more jagged gospel-rock stomper as on “Heaven Don’t Call Me Home”, their voices still seem perfectly suited for the task." Read the review here.

What a busy week!

1/28/2015

With the new album officially out (even though the blizzard stopped a certain someone from receiving her copy on time), The Lone Bellow has been super busy. We feel ridiculously proud of these guys, even though we've had nothing to do with their success. There's just something that makes us feel so happy to know of this band, and we just want to share the joy. We are going to try our best to keep up with all of the interviews, appearances, and anything else that comes up in the next few weeks. As for now, here's a little bit of a roundup.

Over the weekend, we were pleasantly surprised to hear their interview on NPR's Weekend Edition. We are huge NPR nerds, so much so that it's a wonder we ever find time to listen to music! If you did not hear the interview, check it out here.

There's also this little promo, appealing to the Target shopper in all of us:

And, let's not forget that the band recently disembarked from their Cayamo cruise, which we wrote about here. Our friend and fellow The Lone Bellow fan, Holly, was kind enough to give us permission to share some of her photos from the fabulous trip. (We hope to have more to share from Cayamo, so stay tuned!)

Video: The Lone Bellow on Letterman

1/27/2015

First, congratulations to The Lone Bellow on the official release day of Then Came The Morning! We can't stop listening to it!

Second, did you catch them on Letterman last night? It was a classic performance, full of passion and soul, and Zach's foot-stomping energy. We can not wait to see them live next month! We wonder if they will bring all those fabulous string and horn musicians with them? And it will be amazing to see Kanene playing bass guitar and keyboards!

If you didn't catch the show last night, here is the video of the band performing "Then Came the Morning" on Letterman -

The Lone Bellow is on The Late Show with David Letterman!

1/26/2015

Don't forget to catch The Lone Bellow on The Late Show with David Letterman tonight at 11:35pm ET! Let us know what you think!

How The Lone Bellow Came To Be

1/24/2015

“Once I lost control of everything, I remember being like, ‘We are not promised tomorrow. We don’t know what the future holds. Let’s just do it. We have our lives and our health, and what is the worst that could happen?’"---Stacy Williams, on their decision to move to New York

Yesterday The Lone Bellow shared this incredibly candid story from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, depicting the events that led to Zach's entry into the life of a musician. While he has written and spoken of these events before, in this most recent interview we are given quite a few more details about their lives together. While we cannot fathom what it must have been like to have lived through such tragedy, we are certainly grateful for the many happy outcomes. If you haven't read the article yet, make sure you do. And don't forget to check out the links for the video and photo gallery.

It's Been Five Days...

1/23/2015

...since Then Came The Morning began streaming on NPR's First Listen, and we've been listening to it a LOT! We've heard a few of the songs performed by The Lone Bellow in the past, and already love them. But it's been particularly enjoyable getting to know the new, unfamiliar songs. The songs are so rich, and the music is full of emotion, they are infectious. Songs that I first felt lukewarm about are suddenly sticking with me, and I'm listening to them over and over, really coming to love them. Random verses are running through my head all day long. And I'm frequently catching my husband, who, after hearing the first few song releases, worried he wouldn't like the new album as much as the first, walking around singing songs out loud (most often "Diners"). And I know I will love the songs even more after I hear The Lone Bellow perform them live in February!

What about you? What songs from the new album are sticking in your head these days?

NPR Music First Listen - Then Came The Morning!

1/18/2015

We can listen to Then Came the Morning in its entirety, a week before it's release, thanks to NPR Music's First Listen!

Stephen Thompson writes, "The Lone Bellow's songs lean toward the gigantic — at heart, Williams is a belter of the vein-bulging variety — but they're also impeccably played and nicely balanced by softer, subtler touches. Kanene Doheney Pipkin's contributions are crucial, whether she's bringing lilting touches to the sound on mandolin or singing lead in the sweetly languid 'Call To War.'"

What do you think?

Who We Are

We are Abra and Bobbie, two friends living in Boston who go to a lot of concerts together. We saw The Lone Bellow, having never heard of them, and could not believe our good fortune in discovering such talent. We now try to go by the "Four-Hour-Rule", meaning if we can get to a show within four hours, we will be there, hopefully right up front.

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The Lone Bellow Official Website

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