Introducing The HawtThorns

With their debut album “Morning Sun” set for release on 9th August and their latest single ” Shaking” recently included in Rolling Stone’s ” 10 best Americana songs to hear now” what better time to find out about this Californian based band?

Formed in Los Angeles, the hub of this four-piece is husband and wife KP and Johnny Hawthorn, both of whom enjoyed successful careers in the music industry before collaborating . KP released music under the name Kristen Proffit (tracks from her 2006 album Lucky Girl featuring on TV shows such as Dawson’s Creek) and in 2012 she joined forces with Jaime Wyatt and Manda Mosher in the band Calico. Relentlessly touring their Californian country- rock music (think Gram Parsons and Emmylou) and releasing two albums which Kristen co-produced, life on the road started to take its toll and the band called it quits.
By this time Kristen had already met Johnny, a songwriter/lead guitarist/multi instrumentalist and producer who had been involved with several bands as well as releasing three solo albums. The pair clicked immediately and started writing together and eventually marrying.
KP and Johnny are joined in the band by drummer Matt Lucich and bassist Eliot Lorango, although the album also includes contributions from several other musicians on lap steel, strings and organ. “Morning Sun” was co-produced by KP and is released on the band’s own label Forty Below Records, the press release describing it as being “an amped-up Americana album for guitar enthusiasts and singer/songwriter fans alike”.
Having had a sneak preview I can see exactly what this means, and you can get more of a taste of what to expect in this promotional video featuring the afore mentioned ” Shaking” alongside three more tracks including one of my album favourites, the soulful , defiant “Rebel Road” about one woman’s decision to move on and become independent

While the eleven songs (all originals apart from a John Moreland cover) are strongly rooted in KP and Johnny’s own experiences, they are at the same time very relatable to anyone who is putting their past behind them and starting afresh, be it personally, professionally or in their case both!
There are no UK shows on the horizon, but I really hope this album gets picked up on over here and will maybe lead to The HawtThorns paying us a visit soon!

More information, including a “Morning Sun” pre-order link can be found at https://www.thehawtthorns.com

Article written by Lesley Hastings (twitter.com/lesleyhastings)