The Revivalists + Band of Horses

Rock 'n' roll collective The Revivalists—David Shaw (lead vocals, guitar), Zack Feinberg (guitar), Andrew Campanelli (drums), George Gekas (bass), Ed Williams (pedal steel guitar), Rob Ingraham (saxophone), Michael Girardot (keyboard, trumpet), and PJ Howard (drums, percussion])—made the journey from hole-in-the-wall gigs to sold-out shows at hallowed venues, multiplatinum success, more than 800 million streams, and major media praise. Their life-affirming fifth album, Pour It Out Into The Night, is about living in the moment, fueled by lessons in gratitude and life realizations. As the world came to a standstill in the years since their last album, personal experiences and life challenges abounded with band members having their first children, getting married, and navigating the mental hurdles of lockdown. On lead single "Kid"—a hopeful anthem about capturing the essence of life, self-belief and living for the spirit—piano peeks through bright acoustic guitar as a bold beat powers a chantable chorus. “Kid”introduces an album offering a nostalgic hopefulness rooted in living for who you are, an unburdening, and an appreciation for the here and now. Renowned for their live prowess, soulful alt-rock anthems, distinct mix of many classic styles of American music, and outward generosity through their philanthropic Rev Causes initiative, The Revivalists broke through with 2015's Men Amongst Mountains, featuring the double-platinum smash single and Billboard Hot 100 hit "Wish I Knew You.”

◼◼◼

There might be no other band able to channel the generational anxiety in those early millennial years and turn it into such powerful and inclusive art quite like Band of Horses. The band fashioned gorgeously ragged epics, Ben Bridwell’s high-flying vocals and eccentric enunciation floating like a specter that felt like a prelude to a dream. Full of profundity, truth, and sometimes just homespun advice on how to live, Band of Horses songs became anthems and touchstones for fans. Emotionally intense on a personal and elemental level, the songs for sixth album Things Are Great find Bridwell more autobiographical than he’s ever been on record, detailing the nebulous frustrations and quiet indignities of relationship changes and what a person will do to make things right—and what you do when you can’t. Band of Horses comprises Bridwell, longtime members Ryan Monroe and Creighton Barrett, and new members bass player Matt Gentling (Archers of Loaf) and guitarist Brett Nash. This fresh chapter finds the band recapturing the raw emotion and unpolished punk-rock spirit of its early days. The songs on Things Are Great document the connections in Bridwell’s life that have shifted or remained, yet the epic album is not an exercise in nostalgia or regret. It’s closer to the classic pattern of the hero’s journey—where Bridwell doesn’t locate those elusive answers but finds himself in the end, providing hope all of us can do the same.