Why Bonnie

Alternating dreamy rumination and steelier emotions, Why Bonnie’s introspective indie is rock steered by singer/songwriter/guitarist Blair Howerton. After introducing their reverb-heavy sound with a pair of EPs in 2018, Why Bonnie were picked up by Fat Possum for the 2020 EP Voice Box before landing at Keeled Scales for their first full-length release, 2022′s country-inflected 90 in November. Their second album, 2024′s Wish on the Bone, embraced a more muscular sound and broader stylistic base and was released on Fire Talk. Why Bonnie was founded in Austin, Texas, in 2015 by Howerton, guitarist Sam Houdek, keyboardist Kendall Powell, bass player Chance Williams, and drummer Mitch Lamon. The band’s earliest releases, the cassette EPs In Water and Nightgown, both arrived on Sports Day Records in 2018. Following the death of Silver Jews’ David Berman in August 2019, they covered the group’s “Dallas” as a stand-alone charity track prior to signing with Fat Possum Records. Their debut for the label, the Voice Box EP, followed in April of 2020. Although the project had relocated to Brooklyn by the time of that EPs release, Why Bonnie’s ensuing full-length debut was so heavily inspired by their home state that they traveled to Silsbee, Texas with new drummer Josh Malett to record it with Tommy Read (Lomelda, alexalone). The nostalgic 90 in November arrived on the Austin-based Keeled Scales label in August 2022. While writing new songs that were less rooted in nostalgia and more in the troubled here-and-now, Howerton looked to broaden and strengthen the band’s sound for their next album. The lineup of Howerton, Williams, and Malett worked with co-producer Jonathan Schenke (Pottery, Foyer Red) on the bolder, more passionate Wish on the Bone. Released in August 2024, it marked a move to the Fire Talk label. ~ Marcy Donelson