The Restoration’s members grew up performing in orchestras, church choirs, fiddle groups and rock bands in the small town of Lexington, South Carolina. Their debut concept album, Constance, has been taught in university literature and history courses and was featured on PasteMagazine.com.
Formed in 2007, the band have used their varied backgrounds as a lens for exploring the music and culture of their native soil, channeling storytelling and regional history through instrumentation associated with traditional and post-rock America alike. At the core of this exploration is a desire to preserve and enjoy the rich cultural heritage of the South while taking responsibility to acknowledge the problematic history that created it.
The Restoration’s debut, Constance, explores racial identity and the terrifying widespread acceptance of mob violence in early 20th century Lexington, SC. Their followup, Honor the Father, returns to Lexington in the 1950s for a semi-allegorical tale of religious radicalism and abusive Bible-inspired patriarchy. The band’s two upcoming releases will focus on a 19th-century minister’s struggle with the Biblical defense of slavery, and the subjugation of the LGBT community still happening today.
Musically, the band wishes to take part in the evolution of traditional and regional music, providing a living, contemporary voice that embraces overlapping genre boundaries while remaining aware and respectful of music history.
No comments