Band Biography
Evoking wide-open vistas and the spirit of travel, American indie outfit Lord Huron emerged in the early 2010s on the heels of the indie folk boom, bringing together an expansive and dynamic blend of folk, rock, pop, and threads of Americana. Led by Michigan native Ben Schneider, the Los Angeles-based Lord Huron -- who take their name from one of the five Great Lakes -- found mainstream success in 2014 with the release of their lush, Western-inspired second album, Strange Trails, whose closing track, "The Night We Met," reached an even larger audience in 2017 thanks to a key placement in the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. They returned in 2021 with the streaming concert series Alive from Whispering Pines and their fourth full-length, Long Lost.
A native of Okemos, Michigan, Schneider initially pursued a career in the visual arts, heading from college in Ann Arbor to New York and eventually to L.A. Originally conceived as a solo project, he began recording as Lord Huron in the spring of 2010 on a trip home to Michigan, recording a handful of songs inspired by his love of nature. These songs were later released as the Into the Sun EP, and Lord Huron was born. The songs quickly gained recognition and a band was assembled to flesh them out in a live setting. Lord Huron began performing as a band in August of 2010 and quickly began touring, developing their live show as they went. In November of 2010, a second EP, Mighty, was released, coupled with a video for the standout track "The Stranger." The year 2011 was full of touring, with appearances at larger festivals like South by Southwest, Outside Lands, and Lollapalooza. At this point Schneider solidified his band lineup with childhood friends Mark Barry on drums, Brett Farkas on guitar, Miguel Briseno on bass, and Tom Renaud on guitar.
In January 2012, Lord Huron signed with the independent label Iamsound Records and began work on their indie folk debut full-length, Lonesome Dreams, which was released later that year and led to an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. After extensive touring, a second album, the Western-themed Strange Trails, was recorded in 2014 at Whispering Pines Studios in Los Angeles. It was released in early 2015 and hit the Top 25 in the U.S. and Canada. After the closing track, "The Night We Met," got a high-profile spot in a dance scene on the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why in 2017, the song charted in North America, Europe, and Australia. Republic Records took note and offered the band a record deal.
Lord Huron's major-label debut, Vide Noir, hit shelves and streaming sites in April 2018, reaching the number ten spot on the Billboard 200. After launching a live-streamed concert series called Alive from Whispering Pines in early 2021, the group offered up their first new single in three years with "Not Dead Yet." Their fourth album, Long Lost, appeared that May and again made a strong chart showing, this time reaching number 23. An expanded deluxe version of the album arrived the following year.
Lord Huron Members
Lord Huron is an American band who frequently cover the songs of characters in their fictional universe, such as Frankie Lou, Leigh Green, Buck Vernon, and The Phantom Riders. The band consists of Ben Schneider (lead vocals, guitar), Mark Barry (percussion, vocals), Miguel Briseño (bass, keyboard, theremin, percussion), and Tom Renaud (guitar, vocals). It was originally a solo project by Schneider, who created two EPs in 2010 before forming the band. Schneider has a visual arts background and the body of media Lord Huron produces ranges from music and visual art, to video and film, comic book concepts and fictional novels, as well as alternate reality game elements. Schneider has said in an interview: "if you want to enjoy the music, that's cool. But there are all these other elements that you can kind of dig deeper and get into if you're so inclined. Beyond music, there's art to look at, there's videos to watch, there's other ways to engage and live inside universe if you can." Their albums have broad and sometimes intertwined story arcs, which are "intended to be fragmentary, non-chronological and in some ways confounding." Lonesome Dreams and Strange Trails "exist within the same world, but they are separated by time, location and different characters." On Strange Trails, Vide Noir, and Long Lost there are some characters who are present for more than one album.
Chart-Topping Success For Lord Huron's 'Masterful' Album 'Long Lost'
The band’s fourth studio release tops Billboard’s Americana/Folk Albums chart after a raft of rapturous press reviews.
Alternative roots-rock band Lord Huron’s new album Long Lost has debuted at No.1 on Billboard’s Americana/Folk Albums chart, following a raft of rapturous press reviews. The album, on Whispering Pines via Republic/UMG, replaces the Black Keys’ Delta Kream at the top of the chart. The achievement is all the more notable in a week that sees John Hiatt’s new collaboration with the Jerry Douglas Band, Leftover Feelings, arrive at No.8 and Counting Crows’ Butter Miracle: Suite One at No.9. Long Lost also arrives on Top Rock Albums at No.3 and the Billboard 200 at No.23.
The band recently performed the album’s “I Lied” with Allison Ponthier on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Singer-songwriter Ponthier will also guest with Lord Huron when they begin an extensive North American tour on September 9, with dates running until October 30. A European leg will commence on February 8, 2022 at London’s Barbican, going on to another UK show in Manchester and then visiting the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
Critics have greeted Long Lost, the Los Angeles-based band’s fourth studio album, as a career highlight. Roisin O’Connor’s five-star review in The Independent says the album “is what you’d get if you set Fleet Foxes against the dusty plains and rugged vistas of the Wild West. It’s an album steeped in vintage-sounding reverb; built on meticulously crafted arrangements and masterful, elegiac storytelling.”
Other reviewers make comparisons with the sound of the Lumineers (Mojo) and even the Walker Brothers (Uncut). Lee Zimmerman, in American Songwriter, enthuses: “Ultimately, Long Lost could be considered an opus of sorts, a fully realized work that’s epic, intriguing, expansive, and yet introspective. It’s an emotional encounter that delivers on all it promises far more often than not.” Allmusic’s James Christopher Monger adds: “Agreeable yet melancholic and peppered with moments of cinematic Lynch-ian weirdness, it’s the purest and most satisfying distillation of Lord Huron’s pastoral folk-pop to date, and the perfect soundtrack for a road trip to nowhere.”