A Thousand Horses is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

band formed in 2010 in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. The band is composed of Michael Hobby (lead vocals), Bill Satcher (lead guitar), and Graham Deloach (bass and vocals); Zach Brown (guitar, vocals) was also a member until leaving in 2023. Their first EP, ''A Thousand Horses'', was released under

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

in 2010. In 2014, the band signed with

Republic Nashville Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment, formerly BMLG Records and Republic Nashville, is a record label established in 2009 by Republic Records in New York and Big Machine Records in Nashville. It is headquartered on Music Row and utilizes the c ...

Big Machine Label Group Big Machine Records is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group. Big Machine is based on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee. The label was founded in September 2005 by former DreamWorks Records executiv ...

and released its first single "

Smoke Smoke is an aerosol (a suspension of airborne particulates and gases) emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwante ...

", which set a record for the highest debut by a new act when it opened at number 28 on the Country Aircheck radio chart.

Biography

Michael Hobby and Bill Satcher grew up in

Newberry, South Carolina Newberry is a city in Newberry County, South Carolina, United States, in the Piedmont northwest of Columbia. The charter was adopted in 1894. The population was 10,277 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Newberry County; at one time ...

, where they began writing songs at the age of 15. Satcher's cousin and

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, native Graham DeLoach joined the duo soon after. A friend eventually introduced Atlanta native Zach Brown, and A Thousand Horses was formed. The name "A Thousand Horses" came from a song on their first EP. They enjoy writing their own original songs, but they occasionally collaborate with other writers around Nashville. They have toured nationwide and released their full-length album '' Southernality'' on January 21, 2015.

''Bridges''

Their "deluxe EP", ''Bridges'', was released on June 2, 2017, with

Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment, formerly BMLG Records and Republic Nashville, is a record label established in 2009 by Republic Records in New York and Big Machine Records in Nashville. It is headquartered on Music Row and utilizes the c ...

. Producing the new CD with

Dann Huff Dann Lee Huff (born November 15, 1960) is an American record producer, studio guitarist, and songwriter. For his work as a producer in the country music genre, he has won several awards, including the ''Musician of the Year'' award in 2001, 2004 ...

and Corey Crowder, the band vowed to keep their unique sound intact. One of the featured songs on the record is a live version of their breakthrough hit "Smoke" recorded in

Printer's Alley Printer's Alley is a famous alley in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., between Third and Fourth Avenues, running from Union Street to Commerce Street. The portion of the alley between Union and Church Street is the home of a nightclub distric ...

''Southernality''

Released June 9, 2015, '' Southernality'' is A Thousand Horses' debut album, released by

. The first single, "

", has charted on

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since October 20, 2012, although the magazine also retrospectively recognizes the Hot Country Songs charts from January 20, 1990, through October 13, 2012, ...

and

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

, reaching number one on the former chart, making A Thousand Horses the first country group to chart a number-one debut single since the

Zac Brown Band Zac Brown Band is an American country music band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup consists of Zac Brown (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy De Martini (fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, guitar, baritone guitar, banjo, ukulele, ...

's "

Chicken Fried "Chicken Fried" is a song by American country music group Zac Brown Band, which frontman Zac Brown co-wrote with Wyatt Durrette. The song was first recorded in 2003 for the 2005 album ''Home Grown''. The Lost Trailers, another country group, rel ...

" reached number one in December 2008. Reviews have been generally positive commending their smooth vocals, lyrics, and blend of country and rock. The album's second single, " (This Ain't No) Drunk Dial", was released to country radio on June 29, 2015. The album's third single, the title track, was released to country radio on February 29, 2016.

''A Thousand Horses''

Their debut E.P., ''A Thousand Horses'', was released on August 17, 2010, under

. It was recorded in six days in Silver Lake, California, with producer

Dave Cobb Dave Cobb (born July 9, 1974) is an American record producer based in Nashville, Tennessee, best known for producing the work of Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, John Prine, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, The Highwomen, Take That, Rival ...

. The song "Suicide Eyes" from the E.P. was featured in the movie ''

Footloose ''Footloose'' is a 1984 American musical drama film directed by Herbert Ross and written by Dean Pitchford. It tells the story of Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon), a teenager from Chicago who moves to a small town, where he attempts to overturn a b ...

'' starring

Kenny Wormald Kenny Wormald is an American dancer, reality television star and actor. He played Ren McCormack in the 2011 remake of 1984's ''Footloose (2011 film), Footloose''. Wormald was a regular on the MTV reality television series ''Dancelife'' in 2007. ...

and

Julianne Hough Julianne Alexandra Hough (; born July 20, 1988) is an American dancer, singer, actress and television personality. In 2007, she joined the cast of ABC's ''Dancing with the Stars'' as a professional dancer, winning two seasons with her celebrit ...

. The director, Craig Brewer, found the song and knew that it fit the vibe for the movie. For their performance at the Austin City Limits festival in 2014, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' hailed the band as the best up-and-comer, praising their "undeniable energy and stage presence ndtheir live performance". Zach Brown quit the band in 2023 to spend more time with family. A year later, the other three members released a new album titled ''The Outside'' on Highway Sound Records.

Influences

A Thousand Horses self-identifies as a hybrid of English rock, country, American rock, soul, and blues. Their sound mimics

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...

, the

Allman Brothers Allman may refer to: Music *The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969. Its founding members were brothers Duane Allman (slide guitar, lead guitar) and Greg ...

, the

Black Crowes Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psy ...

, and the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

in the context of modern country. Hobby's songwriting is rooted in such songwriters as

Dwight Yoakam Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and filmmaker. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album ''Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerable s ...

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the leader and frontman of the Rock music, rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s sup ...

, and

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Gallagher is the primary songwriter, lead guitarist and a co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis (band), Oasis. After leaving Oasis, he formed Noel ...

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Music videos

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thousand Horses Country music groups from Tennessee Musical groups from Nashville, Tennessee Republic Records artists Musical groups established in 2010 2010 establishments in Tennessee