Family of the Year
Family of the Year is an American indie rock band based in Los Angeles, California. It consists of members Joseph Keefe (vocals/guitar), Sebastian Keefe (drums/vocals), James Buckey (guitar/vocals), and Christina Schroeter (keyboard/vocals). Their music uses melodic male/female vocal harmonies and folktale-style lyrics. They are best known for their 2012 song "Hero", which was featured in Richard Linklater's 2014 film Boyhood and became a top 10 hit in Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland. Origins of members Though Family of the Year is currently based in Los Angeles, California, brothers Joseph and Sebastian Keefe were born in Massachusetts, spent their teenage years in Wales, and eventually moved to Martha's Vineyard. James Buckey is from Jacksonville, Florida, while Christina Schroeter is from Orange County, California. Prior to forming Family of the Year, members Joseph Keefe and Sebastian Keefe enjoyed local Boston success in previous bands Unbusted and The Billionaires. Career Family of the Year self-released their debut EP Where's the Sun on their Washashore imprint in September 2009. The EP includes "Let's Go Down", "Castoff", "Summer Girl", "What a Surprise", and "Psyche or Like Scope". In October 2009, they were picked out of 700 artists by Ben Folds and Keith Lockhart to open for Ben and The Boston Pops at Symphony Hall. Shortly after, the band flew west for California shows with Bell X1 before returning east for the CMJ Music Marathon, marking Family of the Year's New York debut. SPIN selected the band as one of 25 Must-Hear Artists from the 2009 CMJ Festival. In November 2009, they hit the road with Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros in support of their debut album, Songbook. In November 2009, the band released their debut full-length album titled Songbook. In January 2010, the band announced the release of an exclusive song for every month of that year through their e-mail list and followed that with the digital release of their second EP Through the Trees on March 9 under their own imprint, Washashore Records. Family of the Year has been recognized for independent fundraising. Donation-based sales for the band's first EP Where's the Sun helped fund the recording of their debut LP Songbook, and the band has funded touring through online merchandise sales of items like postcards. In July 2012, the band released their second album Loma Vista with Nettwerk Records, produced by Wally Gagel. With the release, the band has been included in a number of emerging artist features on MTV, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Paste, Billboard, Amazon, KCRW, and Interview. The album peaked at #35 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers Chart. With their second single, "Hero", Family of the Year has made a run of late-night TV appearances on shows including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Conan, and two episodes of Last Call with Carson Daly. The single peaked at #12 on the Billboard Alternative Songs Chart. At radio, "Hero" reached #1 on the Triple A Top 30 Radio Chart and Top 15 at Alternative Radio. The song was