Credit: Carlos CruzWhen The Head and the Heart was first getting started in Seattle, the band would busk in the city's Pike Place Market, which is famous for its fish-throwing vendors. A decade later, they performed on the Pike Place Market rooftop, which is captured in the upcoming Rivers and Roads concert film and live album.
Vocalist/guitarist Jonathan Russell tells ABC Audio that playing the rooftop concert was a "humbling" experience, especially given his group's busking past.
"Basically right under where we were is where they throw the fish," Russell explains. "If you go one more level down, there's really good acoustics where the stairwell is."
Beyond the personal history Pike Place has to The Head and the Heart, performing on a roof made the show that much more special.
"It's not like any other concert we'd ever done before," Russell shares. "I mean, we were dozens and dozens of feet above people...just getting close enough to look down was terrifying."
When the show was finished, Russell recalls "immediately want[ing] to go out there and do it all over again."
"It flew by, it was almost a blur," he remembers.
Rivers and Roads also marks The Head and the Heart's first official live album, and Russell can't think of a more fitting show to hold that honor.
"We've been known as a live band for so long, and we've always sort of kicked the idea around of having a live album," Russell says. "I'm glad we waited for this one, because it feels pretty unique and pretty powerful."
"I'm glad that we documented it," he adds. "I've seen the cuts, I enjoy watching it again, it gives me all kinds of feelings."
Rivers and Roads will be released this Friday exclusively via Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Music.
By Josh Johnson
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