Ben Schneider has only been recording as his musical alter ego Lord Huron for the past six years, but his history goes back to his teenage years when he was developing his songwriting voice in Okemos, Mich., a suburb of Lansing (and the home of The Verve Pipe, by the way). Summer vacations on his home state’s eastern coast ultimately inspired Schneider to christen himself Lord Huron as a vehicle for his engaging and emotive brand of Indie Folk Rock, a sound and lyrical perspective shaped by Michigan’s fiercely natural beauty. The combination worked like a charm; Lord Huron’s first full-length, 2012’s Lonesome Dreams, was a critical success and garnered enough attention to hit the Top 5 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart.
Schneider began his creative journey by studying visual art, then moving to New York City to apprentice under a working artist. In 2005, he relocated to Los Angeles and his musical hobby began to emerge as his primary inspirational outlet; five years later, he self-released his debut EPs, Into the Sun and Mighty. The resulting interest led to Schneider getting gig offers, necessitating the formation of an actual band comprised of friends he had jammed with in junior high school (guitarist Tom Renaud, bassist Miguel Briseño, drummer Mark Barry). After signing with IAMSOUND, Lord Huron released Lonesome Dreams, which exponentially expanded the band’s profile.
In 2015, Lord Huron issued a sophomore album, Strange Trails, which experienced even greater exposure thanks to the expansion of the TV and licensing offers that started piling up. The biggest break may have been the use of “The Night We Met” in the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, a likely impetus for the song’s platinum certification early this year. The song was re-recorded with Phoebe Bridgers for the series’ second season.
In April, right as the band was getting ready to play The National's Homecoming music festival on Cincinnati's riverfront, Lord Huron dropped its third album and debut for the band’s own Republic Records-distributed Whispering Pines label. Vide Noir finds the band exploring a more psychedelically inclined sonic tapestry, while retaining the crystalline atmosphere of its previous output. Clearly, the new direction is being embraced, as the band’s current tour is dotted with sold-out appearances, including the Cincinnati show at Bogart's.
Click here to see sanctioned resale ticket options for the sold-out show.
