The jovial, high-spirited, mountain river vibe of folk band Tophouse cannot be understated. The Montana-turned-Nashville based outfit has a sound basking in sunlight with a positive afterglow that is almost hedonistic in its accessibility. For the month of February, Tophouse released a song each week to preview a full-length album to be released in the summer. Songs like “Deathbed,” and “Morning Cup of Coffee,” has Tophouse serving up their brand of high-spirited folk hot, and bottling up that special something fans have come to love.
Originally from Montana but now residing in Nashville, Tophouse has unintentionally but not-so-subtly created a sound that, from the outside, embodies the big skies and mountainous landscapes of their home state. Speaking with guitarist/mandolinist Jesse Davis, channeling the natural soundings of their home was rarely top of mind, but ever present. “It feels like there’s got to be some level of that feeling where you grow up kind of surrounded by mountains, and then one day the light’s hitting them just right, and you have your favorite beverage,” muses Davis. “It’s a perfect day and you’re like, ‘damn, I got to get my guitar,’ and that sort of becomes the muse.”
Tophouse formed in 2015 as a duo between Davis and violinist William Cook when the pair attended the University of Montana in Missoula. As the pair began exploring their folk sound, they were joined by frontman and banjo player Joseph Larson then pianist Andy LaFave. Larson’s airy, salt of the earth vocals and LaFave’s melody driven piano style were a natural fit alongside Davis and Cook. And the spark was lit.
Since forming, the band has toured extensively and released a consistent flow of recording projects. This has garnered a dedicated and loyal fan base due in no small part to their unabashedly positive energy and infectious song writing. In 2019, the band relocated to Nashville where despite the Covid pandemic, they found a way to thrive. “We moved here, we lived in one of those longer-term Airbnbs for, like, six months. Then the pandemic hit, so then we were kind of just indoors for a while. And then after that, we got a little residency at a brewery in town.”
After making their rounds gigging the usual shows bands fresh to Nashville play, in a mixture of luck and diligence, Tophouse’s magnetic live show attracted a management team. After this, Tophouse continued to hit the road, taking their fun-loving sound to a wider audience and found people were responding.
Part of what makes Tophouse so attractive to their fans is their authenticity, and nowhere is that more clear than their YouTube channel. While it does have the usual band content of music videos and live performances, they also have clips from their podcast discussing things like “Taking Fictional Characters on a Date,” and “Defeating the Immortal Snail,” as well as discussing the big issues like, “Ranking 44 Halloween Candies,” and “We Drafted Star Wars Teams Using Only Side Characters”. While bordering on brain rot, it also gives such a unique and fun glimpse into the band, showing them as the regular, pop culture loving guys that they are.
As fun as the podcast is, what it also highlights is how in an age of solo projects and hired gun musicians, Tophouse is in it together. “We kind of divide and conquer. I’m in the middle of mixing,” states Davis. “Joe does a lot of the administrative marketing-type things, and then Andy does social media. William and Levy are kind of like our video people. William does a Minecraft livestream monthly for our fan club.”
So much of music today leans towards the belief that just because a single artist can handle it all, from the art itself to management and social media, they should. But by following the tried and true all-for-one and one-for-all method, Tophouse cuts through the pretense of making it in Nashville and stay themselves along the way. “I don’t envy people who are moving here solo,” says Davis. “Props to them for just the courage and being able to try that. Just the amount of emails must be tough to get through.”
Catch Tophouse with Wheelwright at the Aggie Theater Sunday March 22, Doors at 7 pm.
