Elephant Revival

If Elephant Revival doesn’t make you smile, something is wrong with you.” – New York Times

“The co-ed Colorado folk group has a strong Celtic streak… lovely melodies, lush harmonies and sensual fiddle and mandolin arrangement.” – Chicago Magazine

Elephant Revival is a unique quintet of multi-instrumentalists blending elements of gypsy, Celtic, Americana and folk. Brought together by a unified sense of purpose, Elephant Revival communicates the importance of harmony among all living things and uses music to unite us in ways that no other medium can.

The Nederland, Colorado-based band holds true to the belief even when we don’t understand one another’s languages – we can be moved by a rhythm, soothed by a song. Brought together by a unified sense of purpose – the spirit of six souls working as one, in harmony, creating sounds they could never produce alone. The six souls in Elephant Revival are Bonnie Paine (washboard, djembe, musical saw, stompbox); Bridget Law (fiddle, octave fiddle); Charlie Rose (banjo, pedal steel, guitar, horns, cello, double bass); Dango Rose (double bass, mandolin, banjo); Daniel Rodriguez (guitar, banjo, double bass); Darren Garvey (percussionist).

A haunting sound, at once evocative and mysterious, ushers in Petals, the latest album by Elephant Revival. Notes rise and suffuse the silence, are joined by a deep bass drone, a quiet pulse of cello and a percussive tick: daybreak made music. That first sound on the lead track, “Hello You Who,” is a steel guitar, and its cinematic swell foreshadows the exploration of new territory by this beloved Rocky Mountain ensemble. A new band member and the introduction of instruments like the pedal steel and the cello into their already impressive treasure trove of strings and percussion are just the beginning, Petals embodies a deepening, as the quintet dives into themes of loss and rebirth, time and memory, love unbound by body or farewell.

The death of a close friend having left its indelible mark on the band, many of the songs on Petals represent what guitarist Daniel Rodriguez calls “an honoring and a coping.” But this is not an album about despair or darkness: it’s a thanksgiving and a prayer for what endures and returns. This idea is embodied in the very name Elephant Revival: moved by the separation and subsequent death of three elephants at the Chicago zoo, bass and mandolin player Dango Rose was inspired to busk in front of what was once their enclosure. Not just a gesture, but a true endeavor to create meaning and grace from loss. Petals, the band’s fourth album, is, in fact, a revival. Elephant Revival’s is the music of connection – kin-folk – and the message of Petals, their most intimate album to date, is not how life is about loss, but rather how much life there is in loss, how much potency, how much love.