The Lone Bellow (Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom 6/13)

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The buzz surrounding The Lone Bellow, treat sickness an alt-country band from the dusty, viagra sale tumbleweed-strewn streets of Brooklyn, NY, has been building since their eponymous debut album was released in January. I’ve been a big fan of the album, and after two thwarted attempts to catch them at the Paradise and Brighton Music Hall, I ventured up to the venerable Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom in New Hampshire to catch their set opening for Brandi Carlile.

The good thing about catching a band after they’ve released just one album is that if you like the album, you’re pretty much assured of hearing almost all those songs when they play live. During their 45 minute opening set in Hampton, the band was able to cover nine of the dozen tracks on The Lone Bellow.

The band is made up of three longtime friends, Zach Williams, Brian Elmquist and Kanene Pipkin. Williams and Elmquist play guitar, Pipkin strums a mandolin, and all three share vocal duties. Indeed, the key to the band’s sound is the melding of their voices in gorgeous three-part harmonies. If you’re into Mumford and Sons, The Head and the Heart, Rascal Flatts or the Lumineers, then you should ask your doctor if The Lone Bellow might be right for you.

I challenge anyone to watch their live performances of “Two Sides of Lonely,” “Tree to Grow,” “Teach Me to Know” or “Green Eyes and a Heart of Gold” and not believe this is a band that is going places. Williams, who takes the lead vocals on most songs, sings as if he’s reliving the songs in real time. He ended the show drenched in sweat, after ditching the natty vest he was wearing, remarking that maybe it had been “a bad idea” given the heat of the stage lights.

The Lone Bellow played a headlining gig at the Sinclair the day after I saw them in New Hampshire, they’ll be at the Newport Folk Festival in July, and are sure to be returning to fair Allston at some time in the not too distant future.

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