Photo by Chelsea Kornse
Family and Friends
8/18/15
Madison Live, 734 Madison Ave, Covington, KY
all ages, doors 7pm, show 8pm
$10 adv, $12 dos, Buy Tickets
Eclectic indie folk-rock septet Family and Friends will perform at Madison Live on Tuesday, August 18 in support of the July 17th independent release of XOXO, the band’s second EP. Rooted in the vibrant Athens, GA music scene, the group joined together under the mantra of “good music, good people” and has been steadily gaining a loyal following throughout the southeast. Fusing tribal rhythms, featuring two drummers, with infectious, anthemic choruses and dynamic arrangements, a Family and Friends live show feels more like a communal revival with your best friends than a concert.
A consistent theme running through the band’s music and live show, is their focus on being a “collective”. The ideology that the sum is greater than all of the individual parts is the foundation of this young ensemble. Family and Friends (Mike MacDonald, Casey Harper, Jamie Rios, Ryan Houchens, JP McKenzie, Tuna Fortuna, and Maria Kindt) met and formed at University of Georgia, and through the Athens music scene. Adding to the band’s unique vibe is the fact that their two drummers face each other, allowing them to feed off each others intensity, a vision that the band had from their inception.
Family and Friends recorded XOXO at Echo Mountain studio in Asheville, NC with producer Dan Hannon (Manchester Orchestra) at the helm. A follow-up to their 2014 release Love You, Mean It, the new EP showcases a more polished broader spectrum of sounds, yet still allowing individual players to shine within a collective unit. All five of the songs on XOXO are originals, with the group penning three and Mike MacDonald writing the other two. Over the next year, Family and Friends plan to continue to write and tour full time as they get ready to record their first full length album and take their “live in the moment” performances to the rest of the world.
