A packed crowd at the Greek Theatre in LA were cast under a blue-tinted spell last Saturday night when the Head and the Heart came to town.

The Seattle folk band signed to Sub Pop (also out of the Emerald City) in 2010 and released two albums that had near-immediate commercial success. Their self-titled debut peaked at #109 on the US charts and their follow up made it all the way to #10. After signing with Warner, their success only grew until it hit an all-too-familiar COVID-shaped roadblock. 

Back in May, I had a chance to go to the album release party for their 2022 release Every Shade of Blue.  At the event, Charity, Matt, and Jonathan of the group sat down for an interview to talk about their difficulties during COVID and how it shaped the current album.  They spoke about distance, heartbreak, writer’s block, arguments, and much more. It was a reflection of the toll this pandemic has taken on everyone and the artistic triumph Every Shade of Blue eventually became.

On Saturday night, the Los Angeles crowd was treated to tracks from their April release and the other four albums in their catalogue.  It felt like a beautiful release from a band that had fought so hard to make this robust 16-track album.

The band opened with the title track from Every Shade of Blue, with every member cast into appropriately ocean-blue lighting. Over the course of the next 90 minutes, the adoring crowd was serenaded to highlights like “Lost in My Mind”, “Honeybee”, and the encore-starting “Love We Wake”. 

The Head and the Heart have a bit of a break before they head out on a long tour covering major cities across the US. For dates and other info about the group, click here.

Photos + Review by Andrew Ameter | Exclusively for Music, Why Not!