The Lone Bellow @The Ark

The Lone Bellow

w/The Saint Johns

Thursday, June 20th, at The Ark in Ann Arbor

$16, doors at 7:30

Hailing from Brooklyn via south of the Mason-Dixon, THE LONE BELLOW features lead singer and principal songwriter Zach Williams, singer and mandolin player Kanene Pipkin and guitarist Brian Elmquist.

 

At the heart of it, Zach Williams is an intentional songwriter focused on growing a community, rather than merely finding a following.  Georgia-born Williams began songwriting in 2005, during a prolonged stay at Atlanta's Shepherd Center after his wife was thrown from a horse and paralyzed from the neck down. With a dire diagnosis of quadriplegia, there was nothing to do but sit vigil with his group of friends - also artists.  While they waited for healing, Zach picked up a guitar and taught himself to play, putting melody to a journal entry that would become his first song, "Hospital." His wife eventually recovered (her spinal cord, initially thought severed, was terribly bruised) and the couple and their group of friends moved to Brooklyn shortly thereafter.

 

Williams and the band's music evolved to reflect his Southern roots, incorporating elements of rock, gospel, country and blues that result in a unique and soul-searing blend of can't-get-them-out-of-your-head lyrics that spring from a deep emotional reservoir. The upcoming record is a complete work, a "collection of stories embodying tragedy, hope, betrayal and redemption."