“After seeing literally hundreds of shows ranging from stadiums, coliseums, festivals, standing only venues, bars, listening rooms, and music conferences over the past almost forty years and at the risk of sounding smug it is hard at this point to find acts that really stand out. On a beautiful Saturday evening in the mountains of western North Carolina I had the opportunity to see The Heart Collectors from Australia.
The band is a tight four piece act that delivers beautiful songs and democratically allows each artist to shine. Rich harmonies being driven by strings and percussion create a sound that is unlike anything I have seen over the years.
In fairness, I had the opportunity to see the band play several very short showcases at the Folk Alliance Conference in 2023 and struck a great friendship.
The band played to a packed built-in audience at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts; this was a substitute venue as the booked venue is undergoing renovations.
There was some buzz in the audience about whether or not people had heard the band before. Half way through the very first song, my seat in the audience afforded me a pretty good view of many of the patrons that were absolutely dumbfounded. Not quite sure what they had gotten themselves into. By the end of the third quarter of the first song – the audience realized how special the evening would be. The crowd erupted at the end of the first song. The audience would hang on with great intense attention for the entire show. They were in the bands welcoming hands for the night.
The concert wove a fantastic balance between original material, heartfelt stories, and some covers.
Their version of the Stephen Stills classic “Helplessly Hoping” makes you wonder if Stills was really the songwriter. The song chosen was consistent with the band’s unabashed affection for the music of the 1960’s. They wove in very well known songs to some that are done with less frequency. “Seven Bridges Road” from Iain Matthews comes to mind.
The audience sang along with those songs that they knew made everyone feel part of the show.
The Heart Collectors are a full on sensory performance. The band dresses beautifully for each concert. Forget about the attire of the early sixties with its almost uniform style of dress, and think more about the festival attire of the Woodstock era.
The artists are masters of their instruments. The line up of stringed instruments are mandolin, cello, guitar, and some percussion. Several of the band’s members combine other instruments into the line up that include banjo, a second guitar, piano, and stomp box. Their messages in their songs and stories are genuine and sincere. In a word – refreshing.
As I think back to the early concerts I saw that featured jam bands or free form prog rock bands, it was not uncommon to see shows that ran for hours. They were loud, exhilarating, and exhausting.
This was the first show that I have seen in years that was not a compact, two set, ninety minute show. Saturday’s show ran at least two plus hours to a packed audience that suffered no fatigue, remained engaged, and excited wanting to know what was going to come next.
It is common to endeavour to explain a band by comparing one band to another. The “oh I don’t know, they are sort of a mix between…” For The Heart Collectors – this is a waste of time. Their sound is unique and refreshing.
The town of Black Mountain was the only stop on this expansive tour in North Carolina. This DJ hopes that more venues will jump on an opportunity to present The Heart Collectors; your audiences will thank you at the end of the night. I know this to be true, because I watched it happen.
The band is currently working their way up the east coast on this extensive tour and will finish up at the legendary Club Passim in Cambridge, MA on April 29. For The Heart Collectors – get your tix now and don’t be on the outside looking in!
More information can be found on their very comprehensive and well put together website: https://theheartcollectors.com/