The band recently premiered their newest single “Saving Grace” steeped in emotion and rich with harmony, the song captures the singular experience of loving someone in a way unlike anything you’ve ever known. Rolling Stone Magazine premiered the single exclusively in an in depth profile of the band, where they praised the album, stating “Heat of July is as much about leaving a comfort zone as it is about seeing the world through a windshield.”
“It’s about that feeling that’s almost too good to be true – and doing everything you can to hold onto it,” says band co-founder Truett Heintzelman on the single “Saving Grace”. “With its anthemic, harmony-filled chorus, we hope everyone is lucky enough to have a similar experience of their own.”
Briscoe are out on a headline tour across the U.S. this fall and will perform at Austin City Limits Festival in October. Full tour dates below.
Working with Cook, Briscoe assembled a “folk supergroup” of musicians for the album, including Watchhouse (formerly Mandolin Orange) , and studio musicians who have performed with artists including Bon Iver, Houndmouth, and Hiss Golden Messenger. With sweeping arrangements and vivid storytelling, the album elevates Briscoe’s raw, rootsy foundation into a polished folk-rock masterwork. A new sound for a fully-formed duo chasing down a broader horizon.
The duo wrote the album while on the road, as they traveled across North America, playing everywhere from Canada to Cancun.
“We learned how to write music from behind the wheel,” Philip says, thinking back to the show-filled schedule that helped transform Briscoe from Texas’ best-kept secret into national torchbearers of timeless American Roots. Adding, “Coming up with melodies in our heads, without a guitar or piano nearby, was a necessity for us during those tours. We were on the road so much that we had to become more mobile with the creative process.”
It is also a snapshot of the major shifts in Philip and Truett’s lives, as they both married their longtime partners in the wake of West Of It All’ssuccess — whose accolades included hitting Top 40 on the Triple A chart and #25 on the Americana Singles chart with “The Well” – and thoughts of family lingered as they traveled across North America and penned the album while on the road and on their many road trips through the desert of Arizona.
Heat of July is inspired by the brutal summer heat of West Texas in title, but offers a wide-angle view of the American landscape and shares their journey, both geographic (Lupton is an ex geology student) and emotional — Heat of July celebrates two great friends at their creative peak, and a band stepping confidently into its next chapter.
“I studied geology, so driving through Arizona is like me being a kid in a candy store,” says Philip. “We’ll always write songs inspired by that landscape, but we’ve learned how to tell more personal stories with our music, too. We’re talking about our wives, our relationships, and our family trees. We’re really wearing our hearts on our sleeves when we’re writing.”
There’s more touring up ahead, of course, with dates through August and September including Americanafest in September and an appearance at Austin City Limits festival in October. More commitments that will take Briscoe away from the lives they’ve built in Texas. Heat of July may be the band’s next ticket out of town, but it’s also a love letter to the landscape that first inspired Truett and Philip to write songs. The road goes on forever… but for Briscoe, the road always leads back home, too.
It is also a showcase for a pair of songwriters who’ve learned to grow without leaving their foundations behind. As they prepare for another packed year of touring, Heat of July stands as both a powerful travelogue and a heartfelt tribute to the people and places that continue to inspire and anchor them to this day.
