The Lone Bellow is an American musical group from

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York City.

History

The Lone Bellow began as a songwriting project for Zach Williams, whose wife had suffered temporary

paralysis Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of Motor skill, motor function in one or more Skeletal muscle, muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory d ...

following a

horseback riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the u ...

accident. During his wife's recovery, Williams coped with the experience by writing in a journal. At the urging of his friends, Williams learned how to play the guitar and turned his journal entries into songs. Following his wife's recovery, the couple moved to New York City. Previously, Williams had been performing as a solo act around Brooklyn and New York City, occasionally being backed by a hired band. Williams recalls when The Lone Bellow's guitarist and old friend, Brian Elmquist met at Dizzy's Diner in

Park Slope Park Slope is a neighborhood in South Brooklyn, New York City, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. Park Slope is roughly bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park and Eighth Avenue (Brooklyn), Prospect Park West to the east, ...

. Williams invited fellow singer Kanene Pipkin to join them at the diner, and it was then that the trio was initially conceived. Initially known as Zach Williams and the Bellow, the band shortened its name to The Lone Bellow before putting out any official releases. In 2012, the group signed with Descendant Records, a newly formed imprint of

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

, and released its self-titled debut, produced by

Charlie Peacock Charles William Ashworth (born August 10, 1956), known professionally as Charlie Peacock, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, record producer, and author. His albums include ''Love Press Ex-Curio'', ''Arc of the Circle'' and ''No Man's L ...

, in January 2013. It was recorded at local NYC venue

Rockwood Music Hall Rockwood Music Hall is a music venue at 196 Allen Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Owner Ken Rockwood, aka "The Professor", opened the establishment in 2005 as a small bar and music venue. Today, the venue features t ...

over the course of three days. The album appeared at No. 64 on the ''Billboard'' 200. ''People'' named it No. 8 of the Top 10 Albums of 2013 and ''Entertainment Weekly'' said it was "One of the top reasons to love country music in 2013". The album was featured on 10 different Best of 2013 year-end lists. The band announced in early 2014 that they would be recording a new album with producer

Aaron Dessner Aaron Brooking Dessner (born April 23, 1976) is an American musician. He is best known as a founding member of the rock band The National (band), the National, with whom he has recorded nine studio albums; a co-founder of the indie rock duo Big ...

of The National. The band released the first single from the album, "Then Came the Morning", which premiered on NPR's website on October 6, 2014. The band released a second single, titled "Fake Roses", which premiered on Stereogum on November 3, 2014. The album was released on January 27, 2015. Later in 2015, they toured the UK with

Kacey Musgraves Kacey Lee Musgraves (born August 21, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began her career in the early 2000s, when she self-released three solo albums and recorded another album as a member of the duo Texas Two Bits. In 20 ...

and were nominated for an Americana Music Award for Duo/Group of the Year on the strength of their album. In early 2016 the band members relocated to Nashville. In 2017, Descendant Records partnered with

Sony Masterworks Sony Music Masterworks (also known simply as Sony Masterworks) is a record label, the result of a restructuring of Sony Music's classical music division. Before the acquisition of Bertelsmann's shares in the former Sony BMG, the label was known ...

to release the band's third album, '' Walk Into a Storm'', recorded at the RCA Studio A in Nashville, produced by

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 ...

and released on September 15, 2017. In 2020, the group released their second album with Dessner, ''Half Moon Light''. Their fifth studio album, '' Love Songs for Losers'', was released on November 4, 2022.

Members

* Zach Williams – guitar, lead vocals * Kanene Donehey Pipkin – mandolin, bass, keyboard, vocals * Brian Elmquist – guitar, vocals The trio are regularly accompanied on bass and keyboards by Pipkin's husband Jason, who has also contributed to the band's songwriting.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lone Bellow, The Musical groups from Brooklyn 2011 establishments in New York City Dualtone Records artists American indie folk groups