Biography
Bonny Doon emerged from Detroit in 2014 with a sound that blended folk-rock, alt-country, indie pop, and pastoral psychedelia in ways that set them apart from typical expectations for a Motor City outfit. Their songs maintain an easygoing yet precise quality, pairing graceful melodies with instrumental textures drawn from 1970s soft rock while sustaining enough drive to remain compelling throughout. Early recordings carried a subtle garage-rock edge within their lo-fi framework, as heard on the self-titled 2017 album and the 2018 follow-up Longwave, whereas 2023’s Let There Be Music reflected a smoother, more refined production approach.
Bill Lennox on vocals and guitar, Bobby Colombo also handling vocals and guitar, bassist Josh Brooks, and drummer Jake Kmiecik formed the group that year. They debuted with a four-song 7-inch EP issued by Detroit’s Salinas Records before the year ended. Early in 2015 the band delivered a second EP, the five-song cassette Classical Days and Jazzy Nights, via Fred Thomas’ Life Like imprint. Reconvening later with Thomas, they tracked their full-length debut, a collection of wry introspection and spontaneous guitar pop that Salinas released in March 2017. That release prompted Woodsist to sign them for the next album. Longwave grew out of a week of improvisation at remote Mystic Lake in Michigan and took shape as a leaner, more unhurried iteration of their style; the sessions occurred at Key Club Recording in Benton Harbor with Bill Skibbe and Shelley Salant.
Extensive touring followed, including bills alongside Snail Mail, Band of Horses, and Waxahatchee plus numerous headlining dates. Six tracks captured during an April 2018 show at Detroit’s Third Man Records were cut straight to acetate and issued in 2020 as the EP Blue Stage Sessions. The connection with Waxahatchee proved especially close, leading Katie Crutchfield to enlist Lennox and Colombo for the 2020 album Saint Cloud; the Bonny Doon members also participated in subsequent live performances. Health setbacks soon intervened, however: Colombo dealt with a brain injury and a Lyme disease diagnosis, while Kmiecik managed Crohn’s disease. As the pair focused on recovery, Brooks stepped away, leaving the band to continue as a trio.
They eventually signed with Anti- Records, which put out their third album, Let There Be Music, in 2023. Though more polished and pop-leaning than prior work, the record remained grounded in the relaxed sensibility that had long defined their output.
Bill Lennox on vocals and guitar, Bobby Colombo also handling vocals and guitar, bassist Josh Brooks, and drummer Jake Kmiecik formed the group that year. They debuted with a four-song 7-inch EP issued by Detroit’s Salinas Records before the year ended. Early in 2015 the band delivered a second EP, the five-song cassette Classical Days and Jazzy Nights, via Fred Thomas’ Life Like imprint. Reconvening later with Thomas, they tracked their full-length debut, a collection of wry introspection and spontaneous guitar pop that Salinas released in March 2017. That release prompted Woodsist to sign them for the next album. Longwave grew out of a week of improvisation at remote Mystic Lake in Michigan and took shape as a leaner, more unhurried iteration of their style; the sessions occurred at Key Club Recording in Benton Harbor with Bill Skibbe and Shelley Salant.
Extensive touring followed, including bills alongside Snail Mail, Band of Horses, and Waxahatchee plus numerous headlining dates. Six tracks captured during an April 2018 show at Detroit’s Third Man Records were cut straight to acetate and issued in 2020 as the EP Blue Stage Sessions. The connection with Waxahatchee proved especially close, leading Katie Crutchfield to enlist Lennox and Colombo for the 2020 album Saint Cloud; the Bonny Doon members also participated in subsequent live performances. Health setbacks soon intervened, however: Colombo dealt with a brain injury and a Lyme disease diagnosis, while Kmiecik managed Crohn’s disease. As the pair focused on recovery, Brooks stepped away, leaving the band to continue as a trio.
They eventually signed with Anti- Records, which put out their third album, Let There Be Music, in 2023. Though more polished and pop-leaning than prior work, the record remained grounded in the relaxed sensibility that had long defined their output.
Albums
Singles
