Click Image to Download!

“This record encapsulates everything we love and respect about each other,” says Zach Williams. “It’s a snapshot of the friendships we’ve built over the last decade-and-a-half, of how far we’ve come and how much we’ve grown.”  

“What a Time to be Alive", The Lone Bellow’s sixth studio album, is more than just a self-portrait, though; it’s also the start of a whole new chapter. Written collaboratively for the first time with the band’s full touring ensemble (founding trio Zach Williams, Brian Elmquist, and Kanene Pipkin along with drummer Julian Dorio and multi-instrumentalist Tyler Geertsma), the collection breaks fresh sonic ground with ecstatic arrangements that crackle and hum with all the energy and possibility of the group’s exhilarating live show. The songs are earnest and poignant, full of ruminations of innocence, loss, and the mysteries of love, and the performances are rapturous to match, balancing raw, rock and roll swagger with tender, folk sincerity. While much is familiar here—the band’s trademark lush harmonies and infectious hooks haven’t gone anywhere—it’s impossible not to sense the new horizons at play in the music, to feel the palpable chemistry fueling these blissful, freewheeling celebrations of the human spirit in all its mixed-up, bittersweet beauty. 

“There’s a joy and a levity to these performances that I think is really striking,” says Pipkin. “Writing with the whole band felt like an expression of how much we enjoy sharing our lives and our music with each other and how interconnected we’ve all become. You can hear that camaraderie on the record.” 

Founded in Brooklyn, NY, The Lone Bellow skyrocketed to early critical acclaim with the release of their stripped-down, self-titled debut in 2013. Written in the wake of an accident that left Williams’ wife temporarily paralyzed, the collection earned universal raves, with NPR hailing the group’s “beautiful, heartfelt, impeccably harmonized” sound and the New York Times lauding their “pounding, anthemic folk-rock.” In the years that followed, the band would go on to release four more similarly well-received albums; appear on The Tonight Show, The Late Show, Austin City Limits, and Conan; top the Americana charts multiple times; perform everywhere from Carnegie Hall to The Kennedy Center; headline the famed Ryman Auditorium in their adopted hometown of Nashville; and share bills with the likes of Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris, and Dwight Yoakam. 

When it came time to write “What a Time to be Alive", the band headed to Henderson, KY, where their old friend Peter Barbee had converted an abandoned firehouse into a recording studio. There, they tapped into the playful energy of their soundchecks on the road, improvising a series of instrumental beds they could later write lyrics to.  

“We wanted to shake things up and try a new approach this time around,” says Elmquist, who took the lead in producing the album. “People just sat at whatever instrument they were feeling, and then we’d jam until we had a song. It felt like we were teenagers again playing in a garage, which is a magical thing for a band that’s 15 years into their career.” 

Next, the five headed to Muscle Shoals, AL, to record the new material, tracking the foundation of each song live in the same room together before splitting off for intensive vocal and harmony workshopping. And that’s, perhaps, where the story would end were it not for a devastating twist of fate. 

“We were on tour in Chicago not long after that, and someone broke into our van,” Williams recalls. “Among other things, they stole a hard drive with a bunch of recordings on it, which meant we were suddenly back to square one with the album. 

When word of the theft got out, the band’s diehard fanbase stepped in, raising enough funds to replace their stolen equipment and get the group back into the studio within hours. 

“When something like that happens and you realize how much the art you’re creating means to other people, it’s very humbling,” says Pipkin, “but it’s also very motivating. It pushed us to be even more honest and brave and present.” 

It’s easy to hear that gratitude and resilience on the album, which opens with the gritty “After The Rain.” Lean and punchy, it’s a vintage slice of ’70s AM rock and roll that tips its cap to the Stones and T-Rex as it reckons with the aftermath of a cleansing storm. “Whatever gets you through the night,” Williams shouts over a lush bed of his bandmates’ harmonized voices. “Whatever makes you feel alright.” Like much of the record, the track manages to feel both rough-around-the-edges and exquisitely crafted all at once, with a soaring call-and-response chorus ready to boil over at any moment.  

“Making records can be hard,” says Elmquist, “but we found a flow with this one that just made everything so easy and fun. We were just tapping into everything we loved about music, and I remember thinking, ‘Man, if we can keep making moments like this, then we’re going to be a band for the rest of our lives.’”  

If you listen closely to the record, you might even catch Williams’ laughter captured in the final mixes of these songs, which all find their own ways to celebrate the power of community and connection. The stirring “Common Folk,” for instance, salutes the ordinary, everyday heroes who make the world go round, while the galloping “I Did It For Love” revels in the rewards of a lifelong relationship, and the rousing “I’m Here For You” reflects on commitment and companionship. 

“I met my wife when we were 12 years old, and we were friends for years until college, when we started dating,” Williams recalls. “We got married soon after, and here we are all these years later, still as crazy about each other as ever. It’s a wild thing to hold onto that same feeling about a person for decades.”  

Even the album’s most heartbreaking moments still manage to find the beauty in our struggles. The aching “Night Goes Black” fights to hold onto a friendship worth saving; the riveting “No Getting Over You” reckons with an irreplaceable loss; and the stunning “You Were Leaving” comes to terms with the fleeting transience of life. “You were holding on forever / I was busy making plans,” the trio sings in airtight harmony. “Trying to get my shit together / You were trying to lend a hand / We just talked about the weather / And I didn’t understand / You were leaving.” 

“I wrote a verse about a dear friend of ours named Steve Foote who tragically died of cancer a few years ago,” says Williams, “and then Brian wrote a verse about losing his dad, and Kanene wrote a verse about another friend she lost, and it all just came together.” 

“It’s a song about trying to keep your eyes open and see people and cherish every moment you get with them, because you never know when it might be the last time you’ll see them,” adds Pipkin. “Nothing’s promised.”  

“We’re building more than just a band,” adds Elmquist. “We’re building a community. We’re turning the music into a way of life rather than just a job, and we’re trying to bring as many people along with us as we can.” 

Community has always been at the heart of The Lone Bellow’s work, and “What a Time to be Alive", is no exception. The album is a testament to the enduring bonds their music has forged, both on the stage and in the audience. “We’re not strangers anymore,” they sing on the album, and it’s true: there are no strangers at a Lone Bellow concert. Only family.