The Honeys Come Home - Head and the Heart discuss the evolution of life through song ahead of their Thompson's Point show

Tyler Williams: You think about the families that we’ve started, all of the crazy moments that have happened — both the insanely cool ones and the harder times. I think every time we play those older songs, we feel the years and years of being together reflected back. Those lyrics were almost prophetic, in that they were searching for a life we hadn’t yet found, but could only hope would come true. 

MCL: Early self-titled records often capture a very specific, unvarnished energy before a band knows "how to be a band" in a professional studio. Looking back at those 2011 recording sessions, what is something raw or imperfect about that record that you’ve come to treasure?

Williams: Everything about it. We were very inexperienced as musicians, and we were very broke, pooling our money to scrape and save for studio time. That limited the amount of overthinking that can happen when you have too much time and ability. I love how most things were recorded live together with minimal overdubs, very band-in-a-room feeling.

Playing an entire debut album front to back night after night on an anniversary tour can feel like stepping into a time machine. Have any deep cuts or lesser-played tracks surprised you by how fresh or fun they feel to play again in 2026?

“Honey Come Home” feels really fresh to me. It was sort of a deeper cut off of the album, but it’s resonated as we’ve grown up and dealt with some of the heartbreak and confusion that song was originally alluding to happening to someone else.

When a song becomes a staple of people’s lives — used in weddings, farewells, road trips — it almost stops belonging to the band and starts belonging to the audience. Does that crowd ownership change how you approach playing those songs live, or do you have to ground yourselves in the original intention?

It definitely changes for every member, but there is a playfulness that comes in when we can lean on the audience’s expectations around a favorite song and sometimes subvert that or lean heavily into it depending on the mood. In Madison, Wisconsin, on this tour, (singer and guitarist) Jon (Russell), (violinist, guitarist, and singer) Charity (Rose Thielen), and (guitarist and singer) Matty (Gervais) went out for an acoustic encore and someone yelled out for them to play “Rivers and Roads” a second time, after it had already been played with the full band onstage. They were like, “Why not?” So it all depends on the moment and how real it feels to us.

You’re playing these songs at massive, open-air venues like Thompson’s Point right on the water. Does performing songs that were born in intimate, sweatbox Seattle rooms feel radically different in a sweeping outdoor environment, or does the core intimacy stay the same?

The way we’ve been presenting this tour, from the stage setup to the stories we’re telling, has really made a venue even as large as Red Rocks feel like an intimate crowded bar show. It’s exciting and honestly very cool to have command over that large of a crowd with something so personal to us. It’s a weird sort of validation of the journey we’ve been on. 

As the drummer, how do you manage the physical dynamic of sparse foot-stomping segments to huge, room-shaking moments of catharsis on an open-air stage like Thompson's Point — balancing the quiet, breathing moments with keeping the energy high for thousands of people?

A lot of that comes from reading the moment and intuitively feeling what the room may need at any given time. Softer songs can become a little more dynamic and louder songs can have more thrust when needed — it’s probably my favorite part of being behind the kit… It’s like sorcery, the way energy can shift with emphasis placed in different places. 

If you could send a message back to the versions of yourselves that were hand-stitching CD sleeves and burning demos in 2009, 2010, what’s the one piece of advice or warning you’d give them about the road ahead?

It’s not going to look like the dreams you have, but it’s going to be a million times more fulfilling. 

When people think of music from Seattle, they automatically go back to the 1990s and the ensuing grunge era. Does/did any of that music inspire you at all? How did Seattle’s sound shift over time as it drifted into the 2000s and the indie folk boom took off with Head and the Heart right in the middle of it? 

For sure. We all listened to what was coming out of Seattle with grunge, and before we were a band, but we were especially drawn in by the Sub Pop records that started coming out with The Shins' first album. The label really hit a golden era with Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes, Beach House… it was a literal dream come true to be a part of that story. 

You took a huge leap early on, moving from Richmond, Virginia, to Seattle to jump headfirst into this project. Looking back 15 years later on a summer night in Maine, does that risk feel like another lifetime, or can you still tap into that initial hunger when you play those self-titled tracks?

It’s with me every day. I cannot imagine what my life would be if I had passed on moving to Seattle for whatever reason. I was reading Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha at the time, and it sort of propelled me into making a drastic change that I’m so thankful for. That hunger and feeling of fate carries me through a lot of the more grinding aspects of being in the music business. 

In general, why music? Why do you seek it? Why do you create it? 

It’s the way we best know how to connect with other people. 

What can folks expect when they come out to see you play on Aug. 2?

It’s gonna be a beautiful night! Portland has always been one of our very favorite stops, ever since we opened for Dr. Dog at Higher Ground [in Burlington, Vermont] during a snowstorm. Alex Caruthers [owner of Higher Ground Presents and operating partner of the State Theatre], who puts on our shows in town, let us crash on his floor that night. It’s those little niceties and seeing true hospitality that lets you know you’re right where you need to be. We always look forward to being back in Maine.

Are you guys doing an additional set beyond just the debut album front to back? If so, will you be singing “Cop Car” off the latest record, “Aperture”? What was it like taking lead vocal duties for the first time?  

Yes! More music for sure. The debut album is only 10 songs, and that wouldn’t be very satisfying for us or the audience, I suspect. “Cop Car” could very well make it in; we’ve been having fun with that one. 

It was cool to be given the freedom to try an idea that we’ve never done before. Kenny also had some vocals on that song and on “Aperture.” I think we’re feeling a bit more comfortable and secure in who we are as a band, and we’re not trying to be perfect singers. We just want to put out something honest. 

What excites you about visiting Portland, Maine, in the summertime? You into lobster rolls at all? What’s the best type? Cold (mayo) or hot (butter)? 

I have to say, Eventide always takes great care of us when we come into town. Their lobster roll on a bao bun is such a genius thing. They’re my favorite. But really I’m looking forward to seeing the people and the beautiful city that is Portland.

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For further information and to grab tickets to the show (which also features Houndmouth and Center Mid), visit: https://statetheatreportland.com/events/the-head-and-the-heart/.