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The Nightowls

The Nightowls

'Royal Sessions' really marks the beginning of us figuring out exactly who we are as a band," says Ryan Harkrider, frontman of Austin-based soul dynamos The Nightowls. "It's us transitioning from the 'retro' label into defining our own distinctive sound, and this is the first release where we feel like we've totally locked into what our creative process is as a ten-piece ensemble."

For The Nightowls, that process began with the release their debut album, 'Good As Gold,' which took Texas by storm in 2014. The Austin Chronicle hailed it as "suave, energetic, blue-eyed soul" and named it one of the Top 10 of the year at the annual Austin Chronicle Music Awards, Austin Monthly named them a Band To Watch, and Texas Music Magazine called the album "a smooth addictive blend of pop, R&B and funk that will delight the band's dance-happy fans." They spent the next year bringing their ecstatic live show to stages around the country, including a triumphant hometown gig at the Austin City Limits Festival, and followed it up in 2015 with 'Fame Sessions,' recorded at the titular, iconic Muscle Shoals studio. That album earned the band serious national attention and love everywhere from The Atlantic and Southern Living to Relix and Pollstar, and it saw their lineup solidify into its current, electrifying status.

"Our live shows continue to get more and more choreographed and exciting," says vocalist Ellie Carroll of the band's evolution during the last year on the road, which included a much-lauded return to the ACL Festival. "The whole front line is out there dancing and we're always upping our game and our performances. The visual power of ten people doing the same thing at the same time is immense, and everybody in this band is an incredible dancer and performer."