The brainchild of composer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Liam McCormick, orchestral indie
band The Family Crest was started as a recording project with co-founder John Seeterlin (bass)
as a final release before bowing out of the industry. Instead of leaving music, they were inspired
by their peers to set out to reinvent how a band could be created, starting The Family Crest with
an audacious and bold vision of cultivating a musical community. “We always liked making
music with people - getting a bunch of people together and singing. So we put ads everywhere,”
says McCormick. “We posted on Craigslist, distributed flyers, and emailed old friends from
school.” The outcome was greater than the original duo imagined, with over 80 people credited
on the first recording the band produced and over 500 musicians credited throughout their
catalog.
Beyond the core band, over 500 “Extended Family” members participate on recordings, live
shows, and across the artistic spectrum. Known for their jaw-dropping live performances, The
Family Crest has toured extensively domestically and internationally garnering the support of
fans and the press alike. Bob Boilen of NPR's All Songs Considered said of The Family Crest,
“Seeing is believing. Liam McCormick is a knockout singer, you simply must hear him live...
There's a decent chance you're about to discover your favorite new band.”

The Family Crest has released four full-length albums and three EPs, including their critically-
acclaimed breakout LP, Beneath the Brine, the music of which SPIN magazine called,“...a

masterfully arranged epic... sharp strings, galloping percussion, and an ambition wide enough
to swallow you whole.” Most recently, the band has been releasing pieces of their current
musical concept album series, The War. “The War represents “the next version of The Family

Crest,” says McCormick, and indeed, the album reveals a band more in tune with its own large-
scale Baroque eclecticism. Jim Vorel of Paste Magazine described their first offering, Prelude to

War, as “A sound so big, it feels like it could collapse in on itself at any moment to form a black
hole... One thing is certain: These guys are just as explosive as ever, and these songs are
going to bring the house down in a live setting.” The War: Act I, the second installment in the
concept series brought about similar sentiments as Earmilk stated, “The Family Crest deliver
complex arrangements with such confidence that each varying sound produced is done with
effortless intent and is never perceived as an afterthought... a stunning explosion of color and
emotion and just another reason why I'm continually captivated by this group.” According to
PopMatters, “The War: Act I is another triumph for The Family Crest, showcasing once again
why they equal—if not outdo—just about every one of their stylistic peers.”

ELOQUENTLY BLENDING BIG-PINE FOLK, INDIE-POP, AND SWEET VOCAL HARMONIES, Babes in Canyon crafts music that is eminently engaging and very much of the moment.

 

Born of a spontaneous writing session during a blackout, their debut EP Second Cities unfolds with an easy grace that belies the relative newness of the endeavor. Nuanced, expertly arranged, yet profoundly catchy, Babes in Canyon stands ready to soundtrack your adventures (spontaneous or otherwise). As one of the founding members of the indie-pop band Kuinka, Nathan Hamer honed his skills as a singer-songwriter through years of national headlining tours and festival performances. Yet, Hamer felt a calling to explore a new path.  “I needed an outlet for unfiltered expression.” he explains. “There’s a passion and urgency when writing in my own style of folk that I don’t experience with other music. I wanted to start a project that spoke specifically to that.” 

 

Fate must have been listening, and soon conjured a severe windstorm to strand Hamer and his fiancé Amanda Ebert at a remote cabin near Washington’s Mount Baker. “We lost power and then the trees started to fall. Our only path out was blocked, so we started playing music by firelight to calm our nerves,” laughs Hamer. “I was humming along with my baritone uke. Amanda wrote out lyrics. And by the end of the night, we had our first song for Babes In Canyon.” A brace of songs in hand, the duo enlisted Michelle Nuño (Kuinka, Thunderpussy) to round out the sound on bass and percussion, then headed to Hamer’s farmhouse to be close to nature, converting the bottom floor into a proper recording studio. Joining the band was vaunted producer Jerry Streeter (Brandi Carlile, Darlingside). 

 

“We recorded at night.” explains Hamer, “We’d step out between takes to watch the stars and listen to the owls.”While thematically linked, each song on the record is laced with a strong sense of transition and individuality. “We tried to create a sonic landscape of standing on a mountain just after a storm,” says Hamer, “when the first beams of sunlight start to break through the clouds.” Moody yet bright, Babes in Canyon delivers their own brand of indie-folk that moves to the rhythm of the road.