Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

The indie rock band Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros began in the late 2000s when Ima Robot’s lead singer Alex Ebert suffered an existential crisis and created a story about a flawed spiritual leader named Edward Sharpe. He hooked up with singer Jade Castrinos, and they became part of an arts community from which the band started to take shape. Swelling to over ten members, the group’s first public performance came in 2009. That same year they recorded their debut album, Up from Below, which went to number 13 on the Indie album chart, and topped out at 76 on the regular album chart. Their unique combination of low-fi folk and country found an audience with their single “Home”, an international success that went top 10 on the American Adult Alternative chart, and climbed to number 7 in France, and top 40 in several more European countries. The song was used in numerous television shows and commercials, and set the stage for their 2012 follow-up Here, which was number 5 on the regular album chart and topped the Indie chart. Their self-titled 2013’s release was another top 20 Indie album, and featured the successful single “Better Days”. After some time off and numerous personal turnovers, the band returned in 2016 with PersonA, a communally focused record that pointedly crossed off “Edward Sharpe and” from the band’s name on the album cover. It brought them their fourth straight top 20 placement on the Indie Album chart.