The Milk Carton Kids is an indie folk duo from Eagle Rock, California, consisting of singers and guitarists Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan, who formed the group in early 2011. NPR has described their approach to music as "gorgeous contemporary folk" and "Gillian Welch & David Rawlings-meets-Simon & Garfunkel with a splash of The Everly Brothers," which fairly represents the band's music while also appealing to the intended audience. The band has recorded and released three albums, Retrospect, Prologue and The Ash & Clay. Both of the forewords to "Prologue" and "The Ash & Clay" were written by singer-songwriter and producer Joe Henry. The band is noted for releasing their albums for free and for playing their vintage guitars with Ryan on a 1951 Gibson J45 and Pattengale on a 1954 Martin 0-15.

Artists Ryan and Pattengale formed a duo after Ryan attended a solo performance by Pattengale in their shared hometown. The Milk Carton Kids released Retrospect, a live album recorded in Ventura, CA, in March 2011. Retrospect predates the band name, and was released under Kenneth Pattengale & Joey Ryan. After performing at SXSW in March 2011, The Milk Carton Kids joined Joe Purdy's North American tour as his opening act and backing band.

The Milk Carton Kids released Prologue, their first studio album and the first release under the band's name, on July 19, 2011. Following Prologue's release, The Milk Carton Kids headlined a North American tour. From Prologue, their song "There By Your Side" was named National Public Radio's Song of the Day. The San Francisco Chronicle referred to Prologue as "bittersweet and beautiful."

The Milk Carton Kids have performed on National Public Radio's Mountain Stage, Daytrotter and were guest DJ hosts on Sirius/XM's folk channel The Village. The duo toured on July/August 2012 with Old Crow Medicine Show (supporting their new album Carry Me Back) and The Lumineers. The tour visited such cities as: Louisville, Cincinnati, Nashville, Richmond, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City, Boston and Atlanta. In the fall of 2012, they toured America again with L.A.-based Leslie Stevens opening and in November 2012, they began their tour with the Punch Brothers. In December 2012, three unreleased tracks ("Snake Eyes", "The Ash & Clay" and "Jewel of June") were featured in Gus Van Sant's film "Promised Land," starring Matt Damon and John Krasinski.

On March 26, 2013, the band’s album ‘’The Ash & Clay’’ was released on ANTI- records. Promotion for the album included touring with Austin-based artist Sarah Jarosz and a November taping of Austin City Limits.

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