The Lone Bellow are Zach Williams, Brian Elmquist, and Kanene Pipkin they call New York home and are currently on tour for their debut record which is self-titled. Zach and Brian have been good friends for a long time. Back in 2010, at Dizzy’s Diner in Park Slope, Brooklyn Brian was working a shift...Zach had been up until this point performing songs on his own as a solo act and found this diner to try out new material. And as it was his buddy Brian happened to work there. Zach soon asked fellow singer Kanene Pipkin to meet him and Brian at the diner, and right away they knew this is what they were supposed to do.
The Lone Bellow put together an album which takes a little bit from different genres and styles and blends it all together into an energetic and melodic album. Their harmonies mesh with the melodic forms, and you can almost feel the beat of Brooklyn, New York wrapping under your feet as you tap along. Through different life experiences, family lore, community, and family realities this album reflects a time and a space where at times you just need an escape or where you face things head on. The album, speaking of community, was done through a Kickstarter Campaign. In which they raised over $20,000 to pay for a large portion of the making of the record. With over 400 people giving money to make it happen, and according to Zach “it was an unforgettable experience.”
Zach grew up in a musical family down south but didn’t start writing until he was about 22. When a catastrophic injury occurred while his young wife was horseback riding, and he found himself practically living in the hospital. While supporting his wife through this extreme ordeal he had a journal with him in which he wrote in nearly every day. He showed the writings to a few friends, and as his wife gradually regained the ability to walk he was approached by a friend to turn these writings into songs. Zach and his wife, and along with fellow Georgian Brian Elmquist packed up and moved to New York. Zach was doing his solo thing with other backing musician’s and then on that day at Dizzy’s Diner The Lone Bellow began. They (The Lone Bellow) caught a huge break when after a show in New York Zach received a phone call from The Civil Wars in which they asked Zach, and his new band mates, if they would like to open up for them in Philadelphia. With all the trying times here they were playing their first “real” show. They rehearsed for days wanting this to be flawless, and as it turned it out the outpouring of support for them in New York and at that show in Philadelphia has felt like home, and gives a sense of community. Where these songs are much bigger than them, they are everyone’s to share.
The Lone Bellow have brought their debut album to us with humbleness and gratitude. I say that because of a question I asked Zach. Which was: Why music? Of all things to do why music? He replied with “Music has been a cathartic force in my life. It’s been a part of my personal daily rhythm for a good while now. It’s a mysterious thing. It has the power of creating a sense of community and honestly all within a moment.” Through the encounters and realizations at a diner, and an extremely trying time The Lone Bellow have found a way to make it work, and with their tool of music to help share in the experience.
They will be playing this Saturday the 19th at Buckle Up Music Festival on the River Stage at 5:00!
