Vide Noir – Lord Huron

Lord Huron began as a solo project by Michigan-born/Los Angeles-based musician Ben Schneider in the spring of 2010. On a trip home to Michigan, Schneider recorded three songs inspired by communing with nature. These songs were later released as the Into the Sun EP, and Lord Huron was born. The songs quickly gained recognition and a live band was assembled to flesh out the songs in a live setting. Lord Huron began performing as a band in August of 2010 and quickly began touring, developing their live show as they went. In November of 2010 a second EP, entitled Mighty, was released, and coupled with a video for the standout track “The Stranger.” The year 2011 was full of touring, with appearances at larger festivals like South by Southwest, Outside Lands, and Lollapalooza. At this point Schneider solidified his band lineup with childhood friends Mark Barry on drums, Brett Farkas on guitar, Miguel Briseno on bass, and Tom Renaud on guitar.

In January of 2012, Lord Huron signed with independent label IAMSOUND Records and began work on their indie folk debut full-length, Lonesome Dreams, which was released later that year and led to an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. After extensive touring, a second album, the Western-themed Strange Trails, was recorded in 2014 at Whispering Pines Studios in Los Angeles. It was released in early 2015 and hit the Top 25 in the U.S. and Canada. After the closing track, “The Night We Met,” got a high-profile spot in a dance scene on the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why in 2017, the song charted in North America, Europe, and Australia. Republic Records took note and offered the band a record deal. Lord Huron’s major-label debut, Vide Noir, hit shelves and streaming sites in April 2018. ~ Fred Thomas