Based out of both Lexington, KY and Washington, D.C., These United States started out as the brainchild of Jesse Elliott and collaborator David Strackany (better known to most as Paleo), with an ever-changing, shifting collective of collaborators. The lineup has more recently solidified into its current incarnation (Elliott, Robby Cosenza, J. Tom Hnatow, Justin Craig, and Colin Kellogg). You can find their sound in the same wheelhouse as Midlake or Delta Spirit, with the freak-folk sensibilities of Devandra Banhardt haunted by the ghost of Gram Parsons.

It may be telling that Jesse Elliott is an honest-to-whatever descendent of Johnny Appleseed, which perhaps explains the feeling in the music of marching out into this modern wilderness, fighting to change the world through sheer willpower and hope. This may explain the band's relentless touring ethic. Since 2005, they've played nearly 500 shows in support of three albums, including a notably masonic stretch of 33 shows in 33 days with 33 different lineups.

We were able to sit down with three of them at this year's Monolith Music Festival to catch a song off of their most recent album Everything Touches Everything (United Interests), one from their 2008 release Crimes, and an oft-covered version of the classic 12 Gates To The City.

MP3 Session Downloads : 

These United States - Get Yourself Home
These United States - I Want You To Keep Everything
These United States - 12 Gates To The City

Recorded and Mixed by Jeff DuPont
Filmed and Edited by Doug Fellegy, Michelle Castillo, and Joe Wallace
Words by Brian J. Brake
Special thanks to Esurance and The Monolith Music Festival