Indie iconoclasts who slay as viciously with a pen as a guitar.
Inspired by The Decemberists
Old-timey folk tales and chamber pop jamborees.
About The Decemberists
Artist Biography
The Decemberists are a folk-influenced rock band known for elaborate stage designs and poetic lyrics inspired by real-life historical events.
∙ Founded in 2000, the group flourished in Portland, Oregon’s indie music scene, continuing the legacy of such ’90s stars as lo-fi folkie Elliott Smith and riot grrrl band Sleater-Kinney.
∙ NPR listeners voted the band’s major-label debut, The Crane Wife—which took inspiration from Shakespeare’s The Tempest and a Japanese folk tale—their favorite album of 2006.
∙ “Down By the Water,” a 2011 song featuring R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck and Americana star Gillian Welch, was nominated for a Best Rock Performance Grammy Award.
∙ Their 2011 album, The King Is Dead, which was recorded in a barn on an 80-acre farm, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
∙ In 2017, the band collaborated with Lin-Manuel Miranda on “Ben Franklin’s Song,” the first track released in the Hamilton composer’s Hamildrops series.
∙ Frontman and lyricist Colin Meloy is also the author of a best-selling children’s fantasy series, The Wildwood Chronicles, and a book on The Replacements’ Let It Be.
Hometown
Portland, OR, United States
Genre
Alternative
Members of The Decemberists
The Decemberists was formed in 2000. Members of The Decemberists include, or have included, the following 6 members.