Reviews Write New Review
Location
Booking Fee
Fee: $##,###Get Pricing
Virtual Fee: $##,###Get Pricing
[email protected]
Bison's mountain-top chamber music combines elements of alternative indie-folk with classical sensibilities. Their first album Quill was released independently in September, 2011 and has received critical praise noting the bands complex arrangements, refined lyrics and vocal harmonies.
Ben Hardesty doesn’t look the part of a rock star as he navigates a rickety tractor through the sprawling ranch where he grew up and fell in love with music. On the edge of The Great Dismal Swamp, Hardesty developed his spirit of adventure, and passion for doing things a bit differently. His father, Dan gave him a guitar when he was two, and later told him, “It doesn’t matter if you play it right, just make it sound good!” Not the typical teaching method, but then again, The Last Bison is anything but typical.
The seven-member ensemble led by Ben has seemingly risen from the marshes of southeastern Virginia to captivate the national music scene with a rare blend of folk that is poetically steeped in classical influences. Band members describe the sound as “mountain-top chamber.”
Already the band has drawn flattering though imperfect comparisons to indie rock superstars the likes of Mumford & Sons, The Decemberists and Fleet Foxes. Flattering because each of those bands has carried folk rock into the main- stream; imperfect because none of them have a front man that shares the stage with his father and sister, nor uses a 75-year-old chaplain’s pump organ and Bolivian goat toenails on stage. The Last Bison is a tight knit community of family and friends that boasts a sound all its own.
A blogger for the popular music sharing site, Noise trade, remarked: “Bison has already crafted a sound that is thread- ed with their own singular strands of creativity. Songs like ‘In Your Room,’ ‘Switzerland,’ ‘The Woodcutter’s Son’ and ‘River Rhine’ all unfurl in textured, poetic waves that are based far more in inspiration than imitation.” Another critic, for Folk hive, writes: “Bison is a welcome respite from all that is manufactured.”
The Last Bison’s live shows transport audiences from urban music halls to another, less familiar, era. Rich melodies accent unabashedly spiritual lyrics. Traditional folk instruments resonate with unexpected
arrangements –sharing the musical space with lush family harmonies, classical strings, and earthy percussion. Band members appear to have stepped out of an 18th century stagecoach. The look hints at the band’s roots in colonial Virginia, while the sound transcends a defining era.
Six of the band’s seven members are the products of homeschooling, including Ben and his younger sister, Annah, who plays bells and sings backup vocals. A couple of longtime friends – percussionist Jay Benfante and his older brother, Andrew, who rocks that antique organ – grew up going to church with the Hardesty’s and were a natural fit. The band received a refining touch with the discovery of two classically trained strings players from a local home- schooling cooperative. Add Teresa Totheroh on violin and Amos Housworth on cello, and the band’s richly layered sound is complete.
The Last Bison will release their major label debut “Inheritance” EP on October 23rd through Republic Records. The band will be heading out across the country on tour this fall.
Related Speakers View all
Colin Munroe
Colin Munroe is a Canadian singer-songwriter and rec...
|
|
Allah-Las
Rock Band From Los Angeles, CA; 60's Surf Rock & Sou...
|
|
Peter Wolf
Peter Wolf is an American rhythm and blues, soul and...
|
|
Umphrey's McGee
Umphrey's McGee is an American progressive rock jam ...
|
|
Gentlemen Hall
Gentlemen Hall is an alternative rock band from Bost...
|
|
Farewell Milwaukee
Midwestern Folk Rock | Americana
|
|
Donald Cumming
Singer-Songwriter; Former Member of "The Virgins" Band
|
|
Bear's Den
British Alternative Country and Indie Folk Band
|
|
Bon Iver
Grammy Award-Winning Indie Folk Band Created By Just...
|
|
Two Door Cinema Club
Two Door Cinema Club is an alternative rock band fro...
|
|
Phoenix
French Alternative Rock Band
|
|
Franz Ferdinand
Scottish Rock Band Known for Their Hit "Take Me Out"
|
|
Cold War Kids
Cold War Kids are an American indie rock band from L...
|
|
Third Eye Blind
Popular Alternative Rock Band
|
|
Mikel Jollett
Musician Known As the Frontman for Indie-Rock Band "...
|
|
Saint Motel
Indie-Pop Band From Los Angeles; Known for "My Type"
|
|
The Wallflowers
American Rock Band
|
|
Share Ross
CEO at Video Rockstar University; Speaks on How to G...
|
|
Gayngs
Gayngs is a Midwest indie band with a 1980s soft roc...
|
|
The Futureheads
The Futureheads are an English post-punk band from S...
|