TEOA (The End of America) is a band of friends, singers and travelers who blend three-part harmony with indie rock and folk. The Philadelphia/NYC outfit credits their name to a passage in Kerouac’s On The Road about exploration through travel. The trio drifts through styles that resonate with fans of The Avett Brothers, CSNY and Dawes.
All frontmen of previous bands, Brendon Thomas, James Downes and Trevor Leonard met on tour in 2005. Quick to become best friends, they’d frequently join each other on stage, adding harmonies to each others’ songs. After the coinciding stall-out of all three of their other projects, they decided to create a trio that highlights their vocal chemistry and captures the raw honesty of their performances.
Since their formation, they’ve released three albums and are now releasing a new single every month for the next year. Their fourth single, “He Was a Friend of Mine” was featured on Spotify’s ‘Fresh Folk’ playlist.
With a whole host of new music released, the band was gearing up for a full year of US and European touring before the pandemic sidelined them for the time being. Anyone who has seen TEOA can attest to their powerful harmonies and stage presence. The End of America has performed at SXSW, Savannah Stopover and the Baltimore Folk Fest. They have shared the stage with Larry Campbell, David Bromberg, Gary Louris (The Jayhawks), Simone Felice (The Felice Brothers) and joined Beck in Los Angeles to perform for his Song Reader sheet music release show. The trio’s appearance at the show aired live on KCRW and received praise from Spin, Filter and The Hollywood Reporter.
Today Glide is excited to premiere the video for the band’s newest single “A Million Miles of Low Road.” Recorded and filmed while the band members were stuck in quarantine, the band blends the peaceful harmonies of Crosby, Stills and Nash with the charming folk of the Avett Brothers and David Mayfield. With sparse atmospheric instrumentation backing a simple acoustic guitar, the vocals shine as the band members sing about grappling with the difficulties of life. Interestingly, this song confronts topics of depression while simultaneously basking in the idea of hope for the future. As we all deal with problems both worldwide and personally, many of us are trying are hardest to remain optimistic about where this planet is heading. TEOA’s “A Million Miles of Low Road” dabbles in melancholy before ultimately transforming into a shimmering folk tune that will brighten your spirits.
James Downes’ personal song description:
“When I’m feeling like life is difficult and my problems are complicated, I usually seek comfort and therapy by writing a simple song. I was at one of my lowest points of last year. The news was blaring fear and destruction while my mind was looping sound bites of self doubt. Like most people, I grapple with seasonal and media inflicted depression, but this year was hard. I felt disconnected and far from my friends and family. My state of mind was anchorless, floating whichever way the tide pulled it. When I started writing “A Million Miles of Low Road,” my hope was that searching for words to describe whatever it was that was eating at me might set me on a path to actually be able to face myself every morning. I’m grateful to say that, like the song’s sunny instrumental disposition, life did seem to brighten a bit. The news has never been more dramatic (for good reason), but between the passion and progress of the social justice movement, and encouraging myself to lean into the simple joy of having great people in my life, I’m feeling like things may actually turn out okay. Recorded at our separate homes in quarantine, we hope this little song might lighten someone’s day just in knowing that they’re not the only one getting rocked right now. And sometimes knowing that you’re not alone is all it takes.”
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