Purveyors of a fiercely independent sound, the Band of Heathens are back, this time with Simple Things.
Videos by American Songwriter
The Austin-formed band, best known for their Texas-textured style, are once again set to deliver their trademark sound—a rolling thunder of bluesy Americana, thumping country, and rumbling rock and roll—on their ninth studio album.
Recorded and released through their own label, BOH Records, Simple Things will feature the band as they’ve always been, true-to-themselves outliers of the music industry devoted to creating music on their own terms.
“I see a lot of artists out there screaming, ‘Hey, we’re outlaws, we’re independent!’ and they’re signed to a major label and live completely within that model,” said band member and songwriter Gordy Quist in a statement, adding, “We’ve been the ultimate indie band for 17 years.”
Now scattered across the country, the bandmates came together, returning to their Austin roots to record Simple Things. What can be heard on the album, is a band digging deep in search of their humble beginnings and the rugged sound—one born from bar room nights, pouring their hearts out to strangers drowning their own.
“Many times in the past, we’d take a song and stretch to make it into something else sonically, because that’s exciting and fun to do in the studio,” Quist said of their music. “This time around, we tried to use some restraint and embraced our first instincts, trusting the songs.”
Get a taste of that instinct, below, as the Band Of Heathens offers a sample of Simple Things with “Heartless Year” and “Stormy Weather.”
“Heartless Year” is an electric gospel asking for a little mercy. It’s been a heartless year, but we’re still hanging on / Gonna face our fears, gonna right these wrongs / I gotta laugh to hold back my tears / Crawling from a train wreck waiting out a heartless year, they sing, each word kicking up dust against the stomping beat.
You can rip me off and run me out of town, their next single, “Stormy Weather,” assures, I’ve been torn to pieces, buried six feet down / But I’m right here, I’m no pretender / Against the wall there’s no surrender, just remember / Built for stormy weather. A comforting soul arrangement wraps the lyrics in a familiar embrace.
As of now, the band has several tour dates on their calendar with several more to be announced. See the current list below.
2023 Tour Dates
Jan. 25-29 – Key West, FL @ Mile 0 Festival
Feb. 22 – Austin, TX @ C-Boys
Mar. 1 – Austin, TX @ C-Boys
Mar. 8 – Austin, TX @ C-Boys
Mar. 15 – Austin, TX @ C-Boys
Apr. 17 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
Apr. 18 – Wisconsin Dells, WI @ Showboat Saloon
Apr. 19 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
Apr. 20 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Midtown
Apr. 21 – Newport, KY @ Southgate House Revival
Apr. 22 – Bristol, VA @ Cameo Theater
Apr. 23 – Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theater
Apr. 25 – Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre
Apr. 26 – Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle
Apr. 27 – Nashville, TN @ Basement East
Apr. 28 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
Apr. 29 – Huntingdon, TN @ Dixie Carter Performing Arts Center
Apr. 30 – Memphis, TN @ Railgarten
May 4 – Houston, TX @ Heights Theater
May 5 – Dallas, TX @ Kessler Theater
May 6 – New Braunfels, TX @ Gruene Hall
Oct. 6 – Lafayette, LA @ Acadiana Center for the Arts
Photo by Alysse Gafkjen / Big Feat PR
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