The Lone Bellow: Music Made From Folk Togetherness

A few years ago musician, vocalist and songwriter Zach Williams stretched himself to do something he didn’t want to do. It was outside his comfort zone. For Williams and his bandmates, however, an unexpected reliance on community would leave a creative mark.

The Lone Bellow is known for heartfelt Americana soulfulness, and rootsy, emotionally sensitive lyrics. The group’s gospel-esque harmonies are capable of making even the hardest among us get a little misty when the music is witnessed live. They’ve performed everywhere from The Grand Ole Opry and Carnegie Hall to the most intimate of venues. 

In 2023, Williams – alongside Brian Elmquist and Kanene Pipkin – were working on their sixth studio album. One night during a tour stop in Chicago, someone broke into their van. Computers, hard drives, costumes, cash, equipment they needed to gig – and even the new recordings they’d made that were in the process of being mixed – were all stolen.

In an act of desperation to continue with the record – and continue with the tour, even – Williams said he did something he never thought he could do. He asked for help. Just before a sound check for the next performance, they set up an online fundraiser. Even though the recordings would be forever lost, at least they hoped they might begin anew from scratch. 

Williams revealed that crowdfunding was a difficult step for him; reaching out for help does not come naturally. What happened next, however, ended up infusing this new album with unexpected meaning. 

“We tried to raise 10 grand,” he said. “Just to raise 10. But literally by the time the sound check was over, we had raised 25.”

The fan community stepped up to the plate. They wanted the tour to continue. They wanted this record to happen.

“We witnessed the beauty of what happens when you ask for help,” Williams said, with a tone of true gratitude. This experience grounded the 12-track album – titled “What a Time to Be Alive” – in a theme that he said had, oddly, already been represented in the lyrics of some of the tracks. 

One example he gave is the lyrical phrase repeated in one of the songs: “we’re not strangers anymore.” It’s from one of the album’s first singles, “I Did it For Love.”

“It’s definitely a song about togetherness, in the most simple way,” he said.

Also included on the album is The Lone Bellow’s cover of “Islands in the Stream,” written by the BeeGees and famously recorded by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. Including it feels right for a record made possible, in part, by fans. “Islands” is an oft-anticipated high point of audience-artist connection at their shows. Big fans of The Lone Bellow know the song is coming and can’t wait to sing along.

Made in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the record was produced by Elmquist. Williams said they decided they were capable of taking more of their creative work into their own hands. Formerly signed to established labels – including a division of Sony – they decided for this outing, they’d experiment with doing things differently.

“We started our own label,” Williams said, of the yet-to-be-named indie startup. “This is the first record that we’re releasing on our own label. It’s a big leap of faith.”

That leap of faith – combined with an expansive new approach to recording the second-time around – resulted in something Williams believes is even better than the first version of the songs. 

The theme of community – of togetherness – showed up yet again in a new creative approach. The core trio usually wrote in a closed circle of the three, and then added additional musicians when touring. This time, they wanted something bigger. 

Williams said they wanted to include all five touring members, so drummer Julian Dorio and multi-instrumentalist Tyler Geertsma were brought in for “What a Time to Be Alive” from the very beginning. Williams said it established a “really safe, creative, beautiful space.” Usually, he said, The Lone Bellow is a “big vocal band that concentrates hard on story and lyric.” This new approach allowed for a bit more musical “space.”

“More space allowed for more jamming…more space to just…be,” he said. “That created a new, collaborative energy.”

The Lone Bellow was born in Brooklyn, but is now based in Nashville. Even though he’s spent years living and working in big cities, Williams originally hails from Georgia and clearly retains a genuine love for all-things-roots. For him, music is first and foremost about honesty. He dislikes social media. He really dislikes music made by artificial intelligence. He even dislikes trying to shape what the “next step” should be for The Lone Bellow. He’s not interested in using or interacting with social media more than absolutely necessary, or following proscribed industry formulas, or trying to figure out what type of songs or image might work best for the future. He’s only concerned with one thing: musical honesty. That’s what matters.

“I would rather try to hunt honesty down,” he said. “It’s very important to us to make creative decisions out of a place of just being here and now.”

https://www.thelonebellow.com/