Blackwood Harvest

Homegrown out of the backwoods of Los Angeles, Blackwood Harvest officially formed in 2010 however the seed was planted early in 2009 when singer-songwriter Chris Schellenbach took a trip to northern California to visit a friend for a few days. He ended up spending his time at a farmhouse, cut off from the world where he and some friends recorded the songs in one weekend on that would become Blackwood Harvest’s first full length, Feels Like Home. He said, “It just seemed like something fun to do at the time, the house was full of every instrument imaginable, so me and my friend who produced it, Jon Williams, set up some mics and invited the neighbors to come over and play along with us. It was a damn good time.”

Spending the next year and a half in long distance mixing sessions building and layering the rough recordings into a larger concept record, Chris eventually took on the challenge of formulating a band that could translate the original songs into a live performance. He borrowed members of his other band, The Heist to begin the experimentation process. Formed in 2010, the original line up of the band hasn’t changed since its inception, Drummer Chris Vargas and front man Chris Schellenbach have been playing music and known each other since high school, Vargas was a natural ally early on in the project having helped Chris Schellenbach record early demos of his songs and later played drums on the record. Guitarist Brendan McGrath joined the band soon after and bringing his unique musical and guitar talents, reinvented his 1960’s guitar style into a modern folk rock style. Mark Schellenbach, Chris’s brother and drummer for The Heist moved into the project as a bass player bringing his collaborative and songwriting abilities to help transform his brother’s tender melodies into a powerful musical experience.

Blackwood Harvest is modern take on classic Americana, which has been described as a blend of Iron & Wine meets My Morning Jacket. Bringing a keen ability to create simple, memorable songs, and aiming to let the music speak for itself. Blackwood Harvest continues to be successful at standing apart from the noise bringing a melodic, youthful energy to each performance.