The Donkeys

Drawing inspiration from the likes of Pavement, the Grateful Dead, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, the Donkeys build melodic country-rock around the temperate climate and easygoing rhythm of their native California. Timothy DeNardo, Anthony Lukens, and Sam Sprague, who had been high-school classmates, began performing together during their teenage years, after which Jessie Gulati linked up with Lukens and Sprague in the short-lived Moon and Sixpence shortly following graduation. The four musicians later coalesced under the name the Donkeys, layering a tuneful base with touches of classic rock, country, and power pop. They inked a deal with Antenna Farm Records and delivered their self-titled debut in 2004. After parting ways with that imprint, the group aligned with the Texas label Dead Oceans, which issued their sophomore effort, Living on the Other Side, in 2008. Three years afterward came Born with Stripes, an album that shifted emphasis toward relaxed pop numbers and away from the band’s earlier twang. Their fourth full-length, Ride the Black Wave, appeared in 2014, its breezy Pacific Ocean pop sound paying further homage to the sunlight and surreal atmosphere of California. Teaming with longtime producer Thom Monahan, whose previous credits include Devendra Banhart and Vetiver, the Donkeys prepared Midnight Palms for release in early 2016.