The Oh Hellos

Texas-based siblings Tyler and Maggie Heath anchor the Oh Hellos, a dramatic indie folk duo whose lyrics blend evocative imagery with occasional literary depth. That approach surfaced first on their self-titled 2011 EP, followed by the 2012 full-length Through the Deep, Dark Valley. Dear Wormwood, issued in 2015, drew thematic inspiration from the writings of C.S. Lewis and Patrick Rothfuss. A quartet of EPs titled after the Greek wind gods reached completion with Zephyrus in 2020, while a freshly tracked acoustic take on “Hello My Old Heart” appeared in 2021 to mark the tenth anniversary of the band’s debut release.

The Heaths grew up in a household that fostered music-making from childhood onward. Tyler had already issued solo albums, among them 2009’s We’re All in This Together and 2010’s Let It Go, before the siblings collaborated on a birthday song for their mother and decided to form the Oh Hellos in 2011. The resulting EP came out that same year, after which the pair began playing shows in their hometown of San Marcos, Texas.

Through the Deep, Dark Valley arrived in 2012, and the holiday collection The Oh Hellos’ Family Christmas Album followed in 2013. Although the project began as a duo, the Heaths later assembled an expanded roster of supporting musicians for live performances. Dear Wormwood returned in 2015, its concept rooted in C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters as well as Patrick Rothfuss’ The Kingkiller Chronicle. Notos, the first of the wind-themed EPs, surfaced in late 2017; named for the south wind and shaped by the siblings’ time in the Pacific Northwest and along the Gulf Coast, the seven-track set peaked at number two on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart. Eurus appeared the next year, with Boreas and Zephyrus arriving in sequence during 2020. In December 2021 the acoustic rendition of “Hello My Old Heart” was released, later appearing on a limited vinyl reissue in mid-2022.