Now Hear This!: The Head and the Heart

Fall is finally in the air, and what better way to celebrate the change of seasons than a concert with a band whose sound brings to mind falling leaves? The Head and the Heart is a member of the indie-folk revival with a sound at the intersection of Mumford & Sons and fellow Northwesterners Fleet Foxes.

The Seattle band released its first album independently and garnered enough local and national fans to receive major label attention. The singles “Lost in My Mind” and “Rivers and Roads” highlight both its strong harmonies and nature imagery.

Its recently released second album has it pushing its sound further, embracing Americana and bringing to mind The Avett Brothers. It is a bigger album, but it retains the harmonies and clarity that made the first album strong with “Homecoming Heroes” and the song that gives the album its name, “Let’s Be Still.” The band pushes some boundaries on the album, notably on “Summertime” when violinist Charity Rose Thielen takes the mic while a synthesizer plays behind her.

The openers are Quiet Life and Thao & the Get Down Stay Down, two more bands in the Americana genre. Quiet Life tours in a bus converted to run on waste vegetable oil and sounds like an electric version of St. Louis’ Pokey LaFarge. Thao & the Get Down Stay Down is an alternative folk band headed by Thao Nguyen. Her voice isn’t quite classically beautiful, but it goes well with the lo-fi vibe of the music. “We the Common (For Valerie Bolden)” comes from its new album, and the “oohs” during the breakdown should be a lot of fun to sing along to live.

Doors at the Pageant open at 7 p.m., Quiet Life will start at 8, Thao & the Get Down Stay Down at 8:45 p.m. and the Head and the Heart at 10 p.m.

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