Watching the trio, along with bassist Jason Pipkin and drummer Justin Glasco, sweat their way through a ninety-minute set plus an encore, frenetically dancing around stage and pouring so much furrow-browed passion into their vocals, I came away feeling this is simply a group of talented people who are fortunate enough to get a chance to do what they love. You can see the joy on their faces and hear the excitement in their voices. They aren’t taking fame for granted, it’s all still fun and new for them.

It’s why Lone Bellow fans are some of the easiest and most wonderful to talk to at shows. They’ve experienced that collective emotion and that healing catharsis that’s so startlingly intense… it’s nearly painful. When you talk to them (much like with the band), it’s like talking to family. And in terms of a familial experience, we got two nights of nothing less than the band leaving themselves out there completely.

And The Lone Bellow's sleek and soaring Then Came The Morning (out Jan. 27), which makes excellent use of the Van Morrison playbook

You’ve kicked off an extensive tour – how do you stay energized and motivated on the road?

The biggest thing is our daily rhythm of reminding each other that we truly love each other. After that probably comes running. I love getting out of the van and running through the town we’re singing in that night. You get a nice weight of what you’re walking into. At the moment we’re driving up through California listening to the Live Jeff Buckley record.  Also, it’s amazing to go to cities we’ve never been to and have people come out and listen to our music. That never gets old.