The Westerlies

Over the past fourteen years, The Westerlies have served as high emissaries of a genre-agnostic musical language that upends presumptions of the brass tradition. Since their inception, the ensemble has relentlessly composed, arranged, adapted, recorded, and internationally toured new work, both as a quartet and with a diverse range of collaborators, including Fleet Foxes, Conrad Tao, Haley Heynderickx, Theo Bleckmann, Aoife O’Donovan, Dave Douglas, and more—cementing The Westerlies among the most adventurous and versatile instrumental groups working today. Their eighth studio album, Paradise (June 2025, Westerlies Records), is an exploration of the rich tradition of American shape-note music—ecclesiastically ecstatic hymns written with a notation system designed to facilitate congregational and social singing. On this album, the ensemble shares kaleidoscopic arrangements of time-tested tunes, newly commissioned pieces inspired by the practice, and guest appearances from celebrated Americana vocalists Aoife O’Donovan and Sam Amidon. With concert hall precision and folksy approachability, The Westerlies continue to cut new trails across the American musical landscape. "An arty quartet… mixing ideas from jazz, new classical, and Appalachian folk." — The New York Times "Chamber music with bracing melodies and, crucially, an undeniable sense of fun." — L.A. Times "A kind of bastard child, standing defiantly in the cracks between genres with works that evoke the Americana of Aaron Copland and John Philip Sousa on the one hand, while seeming to translate the rhythmically spastic machinations of EDM on the other. There are plenty of other stops in between, all delivered with stunning clarity and richness." — Chicago Reader