The Head and The Heart has been churning out harmonious hits for over 15 years, and the band is bringing its newest sound to the ICON Festival Stage at Smale Riverfront Park later this month. This stop on their “Aperture” tour is set to be a compelling performance, featuring the band’s dynamic blend of anthemic hits and infectious sing-along songs.
Josiah Johnson and Jonathan Russell, the band’s founders, formed the indie-folk group in 2009. The two met each other and the rest of their bandmates in Seattle, Washington, and the group wasted no time before working on its debut album.
The band started out by selling self-burned copies of the debut album at local shows and record stores before being signed with Sub Pop Records in 2010, which led to the release of the album’s studio version in 2011. The album reached No. 3 on the Billboard Folk Albums chart upon its release, and one of its biggest hits, “Rivers and Roads,” has become a fan favorite and a frequent concert closer for the group.
While the debut album exemplified the band’s original sound — high-energy acoustic melodies and reflective lyrics — the band’s evolution throughout their next few albums provided a balanced amount of new, exciting components and authentic, established sounds.
As of now, the band consists of Russell, Charity Rose Thielen, Chris Zasche, Kenny Hensley, Tyler Williams and Matt Gervais. The sextet recently released the band’s sixth studio album, Aperture, which is the only other self-produced album by the group since its self-titled album.
Staying true to the word’s meaning, the album’s title track is yet another anthemic tune, as the lines “It’s not too late, open your eyes/Come alive, come alive, come alive” repeated throughout the song instill a sense of letting the light in — emblematic of the album’s overarching theme.
As The Head and The Heart continues its journey through the artistic evolution showcased throughout Aperture, audiences can only revel in the togetherness of the band, the music and themselves while listening to the music. This is what has captivated fans of the group for more than a decade as they join the journey.
The Head and the Heart plays the ICON Festival Stage at Smale Park on July 20 at 7:30 p.m. More info: bradymusiccenter.com.
This story is featured in CityBeat’s July 9 print edition.
This article appears in Jul 9-22, 2025.
