The first thing I thought of after listening to a couple of their songs and watching their music videos was Woodstock. The 10-person ensemble gives off a psychedelic, folk rock vibe complete with an accordion, trumpet and banjo. A vibe that made me think they belonged in a grassy field in 1969 playing in front of 400,000 hippies dancing in the mud.
I absolutely love their album, Up From Below, released in 2009, and after listening to only three tracks from it—40 Day Dream, Simplest Love, and Home—they became one of my favorite bands. Their songs combine whistling, stomping and clapping that will have you swaying your body and tapping your feet to the unique sound. Their music just makes you feel good; there’s no way you can’t smile after listening to Up From Below—it’s that good.
Alex Ebert started the band kind of by accident. After his girlfriend broke up with him, he came up with a story about Edward Sharpe while he was enrolled in a 12-step program for addiction. Sharpe was a messianic figure sent to save mankind but kept getting distracted with the ladies. While in California, Ebert med Jade Castrinos and soon started touring as Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, travelling the country with several other musicians in a big white school bus.
April 15th will start off their official tour, and they will be spreading the love at the Coachella Music Festival and Sasquatch Music Festival!
April 15, 2010 at 8:00 p.m.- Belly Up Tavern, Solano Beach, California
April 17, 2010 at 6:00 p.m.- Coachella Music and Arts Festival, Indio, California
May 26, 2010 at 8:00 p.m.- Henry Miller Library, Big Sur, California
May 27, 2010 at 8:00 p.m.- The Fillmore, San Francisco, California
May 29, 2010 at 5:00 p.m.- Sasquatch Festival, George, Washington
