Band of Horses

There might be no other band that was able to channel the generational anxiety in those early millennial years and turn it into such powerful and inclusive art quite like Band of Horses. Band of Horses fashioned gorgeously ragged epics, Ben Bridwell’s high-flying vocals and eccentricenunciation floating like a specter that felt like a prelude to a dream. Full of profundity, truth, and sometimes just homespun advice on how to live, Band of Horses songs have become anthem sand touchstones for fans. Emotionally intense, both on a personal and elemental level, the songs for Band of Horses’ sixth album, Things Are Great, finds Bridwell more autobiographical than he’s ever been on record, detailing the nebulous frustrations and quiet indignities of relationship changes and what a person will do to make things right. And what you do when you can’t. Band of Horses is composed of Bridwell, longtime members Ryan Monroe and Creighton Barrett and new members Matt Gentling (of Archers of Loaf) on bass, and guitarist Brett Nash. This fresh chapter finds the band recapturing the raw emotion and unpolished punk-rock spirit of its early days. The song son Things Are Great document the connections in Bridwell’s life that have shifted, or remained. An epic album, Things Are Great is not an exercise in nostalgia or regret. It’s closer to the classic pattern of the hero’s journey, one where Bridwell doesn’t locate those elusive answers but does find himself in the end, providing hope that all of us can do the same.

The Dear Jack Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit founded by musician Andrew McMahon. The Dear Jack Foundation provides impactful programs benefiting adolescents and young adults (AYA) diagnosed with cancer and their families to improve their quality of life from treatment to survivorship. Our vision is to be a national leader in adolescent and young adult cancer programming, by giving patients, survivors, and their caregivers a community and support rooted in mental and physical wellness based tools and resources from diagnosis through survivorship.