Biography
Based out of Venice, California, the Dustbowl Revival operate as an expansive string and brass ensemble whose blend of swing, bluegrass, jazz, and Americana has built them a nationwide audience. Early recordings captured a loose, playful spirit that highlighted the natural give-and-take among players, an approach that reached its high point with the 2015 live-in-the-studio release With a Lampshade On. The self-titled 2017 album shifted the ensemble toward a more current sonic palette and studio polish while retaining the interplay made possible by its sizable instrumental roster.
Zach Lupetin assembled the core lineup in 2007 after posting a Craigslist notice seeking fellow musicians and collaborators; he has remained the group’s bandleader and chief songwriter. The act quickly became known for its high-energy, boisterous performances, and its roster has expanded at times to fifteen players featuring assorted horns, mandolin, banjo, accordion, clarinet, and the contrasting vocals of Lupetin alongside co-vocalist Liz Beebe. Their debut full-length, Holy Ghost Station, appeared in 2011 and showcased the collective’s range through an emphasis on old-time rave-ups, early gospel, and swing. Carry Me Home followed in 2013 and pursued a comparable direction, merging brass-band traditions with vintage string-band textures and large-scale group singing.
The third album, 2015’s With a Lampshade On, adopted a more immediate method by documenting the band onstage in San Francisco and Los Angeles, supplemented by studio takes recorded live in New York; the resulting set offered the clearest rendering of their sound up to that point. Two years afterward the ensemble issued its fourth record, produced by Grammy-winning Ted Hutt, which tightened arrangements and moved toward a contemporary feel while preserving the retro character that had defined their identity. Is It You, Is It Me arrived in 2020 with a more unadorned, naturalistic production style even as the material advanced the group’s modern pop leanings.
Zach Lupetin assembled the core lineup in 2007 after posting a Craigslist notice seeking fellow musicians and collaborators; he has remained the group’s bandleader and chief songwriter. The act quickly became known for its high-energy, boisterous performances, and its roster has expanded at times to fifteen players featuring assorted horns, mandolin, banjo, accordion, clarinet, and the contrasting vocals of Lupetin alongside co-vocalist Liz Beebe. Their debut full-length, Holy Ghost Station, appeared in 2011 and showcased the collective’s range through an emphasis on old-time rave-ups, early gospel, and swing. Carry Me Home followed in 2013 and pursued a comparable direction, merging brass-band traditions with vintage string-band textures and large-scale group singing.
The third album, 2015’s With a Lampshade On, adopted a more immediate method by documenting the band onstage in San Francisco and Los Angeles, supplemented by studio takes recorded live in New York; the resulting set offered the clearest rendering of their sound up to that point. Two years afterward the ensemble issued its fourth record, produced by Grammy-winning Ted Hutt, which tightened arrangements and moved toward a contemporary feel while preserving the retro character that had defined their identity. Is It You, Is It Me arrived in 2020 with a more unadorned, naturalistic production style even as the material advanced the group’s modern pop leanings.
Albums
Carry Me Home
2013
Holy Ghost Station
2011
Le Batailllon
2011
You Can't Go Back To The Garden Of Eden
2010
The Atomic Mushroom Cloud of Love
2008
Singles
