Hollis Brown

Hollis Brown, the New York City ensemble named for Bob Dylan's "The Ballad of Hollis Brown," produces a lean, energetic strain of classic rock. Their songs weave intricate melodies through pop structures and an earthy fusion of blues and country, delivered with sincere feeling and unforced drive. A lasting vintage character runs through their catalog even as the group has explored fresh directions.

Mike Montali, who handles vocals and guitar, and guitarist Jon Bonilla supply the main songwriting, while bassist Mike Wosczyk and drummer Mike Graves form the compact rhythm section. The band issued its first recording, the EP Nothing & the Famous No One, in 2012 and followed it early the next year with the album Ride on the Train. By 2014 the lineup had stabilized around Montali, Bonilla, keyboardist Adam Bock, bassist Dillon DeVito, and drummer Andrew Zahnal. That year they released Gets Loaded, a roots-oriented song-by-song recreation of the Velvet Underground's 1970 album Loaded. Also in 2014, their track "When the Weather's Warm" appeared in the Matt Dillon–Willem Dafoe crime film Bad Country.

Seeking a broader sonic palette, they enlisted John Agnello to mix the next studio album, the warmly organic 3 Shots, which Jullian Records issued in spring 2015. For Record Store Day 2016 the band offered the six-song EP Cluster of Pearls as a limited vinyl edition pressed in special "Starburst" color. The same year they supplied fans with the four-song digital release Audiotree Live. After signing with Cool Green Recordings, an imprint of the Mascot Label Group, Hollis Brown completed its fifth full-length album, 2019's Ozone Park. Following their earlier tribute to the Velvet Underground, the group turned next to the Rolling Stones' 1966 album Aftermath, which they covered in full on 2022's In the Aftermath.