Band of Horses Artist Information
Once again, Seattle has delivered another oustanding band to the musical world. However, in this instance grunge is not the genre, but Southern-flavored rock and roll with hints of early Neil Young, a vocal style reminiscient of Doug Martsch from Built to Spill, and loads of shimmering guitars. Band of Horses tickets are available today from TickCo!
Formed out of the ashes of Seattle's Carissa's Wierd, who disbanded in 2003 after a nine year career, Band of Horses originally featured Ben Bridwell and Mat Brooke from Carissa's Wierd, both members being on guitar and Bridwell also on vocals. The band began playing shows in Seattle and attracted the attention of Sub Pop Records. Band of Horses signed with Sub Pop and released their debut Everything All the Time in March of 2006.
Everything All the Time was an incredible full-length debut. Band of Horses had delivered a disc full of extreme power and elegant grace. Tracks such as The First Song, The Great Salt Lake and Weed Party remains staples of the band's live set and are typical of the band's well-crafted pop melodies that resonate with a Southern rock feel.
The Funeral, the fourth track on the disc, is a stunning achievement. The track is massive in scope and features Ben Bridwell's beautiful and emotional vocal delivery at its absolute best. This track is a true epic and has been used in countless mediums. For you CSI fans, the song is used in a trailer for the first episode of CSI's ninth season. Live, the song will bring you to tears, it is that good.
The band's popularity was growing when Mat Brooke left the band in the summer of 2006 to create Grand Archives. Undaunted, Ben Bridwell moved back to his native South Carolina and continued to create new music. The second album from Band of Horses, Cease to Begin, was released in October 2007.
Cease to Begin is an album that did not suffer from the dreaded "sophomore jinx". Another incredible disc, the band delivered ten more songs that continued the tradition Band of Horses has already set, but with Ben Bridwell assuming all the songwriting responsibilities, the album possesed a bit more of a down-home type of feel and did not rely on the indie-rock as much. There may have been a bit more of a mellow edge overall, but Cease to Begin is another strong disc. Tracks such as Detlef Schrempf and No One's Gonna Love You showcase that direction, but Band of Horses complements those songs with tracks like Islands on the Coast and the epic opening track Is There a Ghost, a song which made it to the Best 100 Songs of 2007 in Rolling Stone.
Live, Band of Horses have become well-known for spectacular live shows. You don't get all the frills and extras some bands feel a need to provide when they play live. Instead, Band of Horses keeps things simple, focusing on the music and their desire to provide a phenomenal experience for their fans. Their hard work has paid dividends, as the band is now a regular at big festivals. Band of Horses has played at Coachella and Glastonbury, and is scheduled to perform at the 2009 Lollapalooza and Outside Lands Festivals. Their set at the 2008 Monolith Festival was simply phenomenal, the one band that weekend with a big enough sound and proper musicianship to capitalize on the stunning acoustics of Red Rocks Amphitheater.
Band of Horses knows how to deliver a great show, and with your purchase of tickets from TickCo you just bought yourself an evening of stellar music. Enjoy the show!