The Head and the Heart

Indie folk, Americana, folk-pop

By virtue of the fact that they've come from the burgeoning Seattle/Northwest Americana scene, the Head and the Heart may be of interest to fans of the Fleet Foxes, Cave Singers, the Decemberists, and Laura Veirs. They may also appeal to fans of the Avett Brothers and possibly even Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.

Josiah Johnson - guitar, vocals
Jonathan Russell - guitar, vocals
Charity Rose Thielen - violin, vocals
Kenny Hensley - keyboards
Chris Zasche - bass
Tyler Williams - drums

The Head and the Heart (SubPop, 2011) purchase/download

"Lost in My Mind"
"Rivers and Roads"
"Down in the Valley"

The Head and the Heart formed in 2009 in the midst of an ever-burgeoning Seattle, Wash., Americana music scene. Based off the songwriting collaboration between Josiah Johnson and Jonathan Russell, they began performing at the Sunday night open mic at Conor Byrne Pub in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood. Before long, they had added keyboardist Hensley and the fiddling and singing of Thielen. Conor Byrne bartender and multi-instrumentalist Chris Zasche (who had previously played with town-sized Seattle bands the Maldives and Grand Hallway) jumped in on bass, and Russell's buddy Tyler Williams moved to town from Virginia to take over on the drums.

Within months, the band had acquired a remarkable amount of buzz, earning a giant spread in the Seattle Times and, within a year or two, national TV spots and world-wide tours. In 2010, they inked a deal with SubPop records, who re-released the band's debut self-titled full-length album to considerable critical acclaim. They've since shared bills with Iron & Wine and Abigail Washburn. They're slated as opening act for the Decemberists during summer 2011, with sets booked at some of the nation's best music festivals, including Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits Festival, and the Newport Folk Festival.