By Will Haraway

There are a few bands that I just can’t be objective about, and Hiss Golden Messenger is at the top of the list. I can talk all day about M.C. Taylor’s rotating supergroup and their completely original, positive, heavy, polished, loose, tight, joyful sound, why you should see them on this tour and ESPECIALLY at Terminal West this Sunday, and we’ll certainly get into all that in a few paragraphs.

But first I want to tell you a story.

I learned about Hiss Golden Messenger in Steven Hyden’s* “The Best (a.k.a. My Favorite) Music of 2014” feature published on (the gone but never forgotten) Grantland when he shouted out Lateness of Dancers, ranked just behind Ryan Adams’ Ryan Adams (his last great album) on a banger of a list that includes Sturgill’s Metamodern, Jenny Lewis’ The Voyager and is topped by The War On Drugs’ Lost in the Dream, all albums I own and completely adore to this day.

Hiss was a mystery to me, but by this point—and to this day—I already trusted Hyden’s taste and plugged it into a Rhapsody (that’s right) playlist. I listened to Lateness of Dancers and before I got all the way through it I had ordered the vinyl from their site.

*If you don’t know about Steven, he’s the best (only?) rock writer and critic alive. Please subscribe to his Evil Speakers substack, order all his books and thank me later. He has turned me and so many others on to an innumerable amount of great bands. Just check out his 2026 growing list of “Lendermen” recommendations to see that he’s only getting better with age.

In 2014, my wife Erin and I were happily raising our two daughters, Mackenzie- then 6, and Lela Catherine- then 3, and vinyl was a huge part of our daily routine. We listened to records every single night while we were making and then enjoying dinner with our cute little brood. All the classics, yes, but also all of the records I had acquired in 2014 listed above. And to these kids, it was all the same really—Bob Dylan and Tom Petty next to Sturgill and Willie and Jenny Lewis, just music that they were learning to love. And in this stew, Hiss Golden Messenger’s Lateness of Dancers quickly became a family favorite.

“Play the one with the Saturday Song.” “Play the one with the little boy talking in it (Day O’ Day).” Lela Catherine LOVED Jenny Lewis and Mack loved Petty (of course), but Hiss was their shared, unanimous favorite.

I soon saw them live, opening for Dawes (playing w Duane Betts!) at Variety Playhouse and completely blowing me away. The next year at the 40 Watt in Athens with M.C. leading an almost entirely different lineup and knocking me out even more. I saw them every time I could and still do.

They put out Heart Like a Levee in 2016, yet another step forward, and again a family favorite, maybe even moreso thanks to the funky open tuned acoustic jam “Biloxi”. Again, to these little girls, Hiss music was the same as Creedence or Al Green, just more great music they heard at dinnertime.

In 2017, they released Hallelujah Anyhow, and started on their biggest tour yet. That September they were slated to play Music Midtown in Piedmont Park. They were still growing and were given a slot very early on the bill, literally the first act onstage just after noon. I was determined to bring my girls, my two little Hiss fans, to see them. They were 9 and 6 at this point, and the noon timeslot totally worked! This should be easy!

But it was a weird time for Music Midtown, which as many know has (had?) a very strange on-and-off year, multi-site history featuring occasional clashes with the city. This particular year, they were at Piedmont Park and they were going for it: No single day passes. If you wanted to go, it was two days only, full boat, I think around $150 per ticket. It would be a cool $500 after taxes for my tiny team to go see Hiss for an hour and change and well, that wasn’t going to work.

So I sent M.C. Taylor, or Mike, an email, as the band address was right there on the website. I don’t recall exactly what I wrote, but I explained that I had raised two 9 and 6 year old legitimate Hiss fans. By this time, I had read some of Mike’s interviews, could tell he had perspective, was cool as a fan, and had kids around the same age as mine.

He replied the same day. He would leave us four guest passes at the gate on Saturday morning, thanks for listening, hope you have a blast.

And of course we did—the girls couldn’t believe it. Besides seeing their ol’ Dad’s shows, this was their first real concert, and at a festival no less. This was definitely their first time seeing a band who they KNEW and whose music they had basically grown up with the same way I did with The Beatles, Stones, and Petty.

It was a pretty damn good crowd for 12:30 on a festival Saturday! The word was out on Hiss, people were as hooked as I already was, and our crowd gave the boys an excellent response. We got as close as we could where the girls could still see, and they were in awe when they played songs like Biloxi and Jenny of the Roses that they loved- to them, it was like a magic trick. This is honestly one of my favorite memories, ever.

About 45 minutes in, Lela Catherine had already spotted the Ferris Wheel not far from the stage. She had also seen someone walk by with cotton candy, and what else could be better for a six year old? So Erin and Lela headed to the Ferris Wheel and Mack and I stayed to see the whole set. In the middle of the last song, she motioned for me to lean over and  asked, “Do you think we could meet them?”

Hell yes we can meet them.

I had played my share of festivals at this point. It was 1:30 in the afternoon on Day Two, and I knew that everyone, especially the contracted backstage guys, were not even close to being locked in yet. So it was time for a little lesson. “Mack, I want you to walk right alongside me, fast and confident, and act like you know exactly what you’re doing.” She was excited, and grabbed my hand.

We walked straight behind the stage without issue and right into the green room area, where Mike Taylor and Phil Cook were sitting. I explained to Mike who we were, he and Phil greeted us warmly and then they did the most wonderful thing—they focused on Mack. They were both Dads, and they got it. They pointed to the craft table, where the M&Ms and Skittles lived, and told her to help herself. They asked her favorite subject in school, what was her favorite music, did she play an instrument, how did she like the show? She was star struck. These were the guys she’d heard coming out of her living room speakers since she was six. This was Dylan and Robbie to her.

I stayed out of the way, and after a few minutes, we took our leave—but not without some Skittles to go, as Phil insisted.

We were both on cloud 9. We walked over to the Ferris Wheel, took a few spins with Erin and Lela Catherine and her cotton candy, and they were all ready to go on back home and watch Despicable Me or Megamind and take a nap. Erin, God Bless her, said I should stick around and enjoy myself, and boy howdy I absolutely did, randomly running into my great friend Bill Barnes and seeing incredible sets from Two Door Cinema Club, Haim and Young the Giant while absolutely floating on what a triumphant day it had been for my family.

And now you can see why I can’t be objective about Hiss Golden Messenger.

I have told that story many many times to turn people onto them, because it says all you need to know about Mike and his circle of friends even before you press play on one of their amazing studio records, or INCREDIBLE live records found on bandcamp, which often benefit wonderful educational organizations in Durham, North Carolina, where Mike and many of his players live.

The inescapable word about Hiss Golden Messenger is Joy. Mike knows this: they have a record called Jump for Joy, which is great, as are all of their (his) records. Their latest is I’m People, and it’s another triumph of this uniquely hippie, vibey, dynamic, dramatic, spiritual sound that continues to evolve with each of his 13 (!!!!) records since 2009. On Sunday, I’m excited about seeing In the Middle of It (another lovely open tuning dancey acoustic jam) and Time is a Mother Baby, which I can say without seeing it live yet will be the best song of the show.

Seeing them live is indeed a joyful experience, even when the songs are sad, or heavy as they often can be, because the positive, joyful (again!) way that they play them, the way they interact with each other and especially with the crowd is absolutely infectious and life affirming. They are doing what they love, and you can feel it. It is beautiful.

I could tell you who they kind of sound like (there’s some Workingman’s Dead bones in there), and who they cover (Waylon), how they put together shows and how they jam (REALLY FUCKING WELL), but It’s all kind of beside the point. If you love music, and seeing music with people, and dancing, and singing- this is the band, and the show for you.

I honestly don’t know which lineup of Hiss will be supporting Mike on Sunday, I’m not going to look it up because I really don’t care. I know it will be fantastic, I know I will love it, and I know you will too. I’ll be stage Right. See you Sunday.

Will Haraway has led The Sundogs in Atlanta, GA for 25 years (www.sundogs.net)