Tophouse

Tophouse, comprised of Larson (lead vocals, guitar, banjo), Jesse Davis (guitar, mandolin, percussion, backing vocals), William Cook (violin, backing vocals), and Andy LaFave (piano, backing vocals), formed in 2016 in Missoula, Montana, where Cook and Davis met in the music program at the University of Montana. They began as a street performing duo, honing their craft performing instrumental originals on the streets (and empty parking garages) of Missoula. Cook soon brought Larson, a longtime friend, into the fold and the trio began recording original songs and performing up and down the stunningly beautiful Bitterroot Valley.

In late 2019, the boys were faced with a hard choice: keep growing their personal and professional lives in Missoula and leave music as just a hobby or leave their beloved home state and move across the country to Nashville and devote themselves to music. They chose the latter. “It was sort of always the plan to move to Music City” says Larson, “I think it was a combination of naiveté́ and the desire to make the whole music thing a concrete part of our lives.” Within a few months of moving to the Southeast, the world ground to a halt due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Stuck in an unfamiliar city with nowhere to go, the trio hunkered down and honed their craft. As the world began to cautiously open back up, the band reemerged with new music and a new member: Lafave, an old friend of the boys from back home, rounding out the sound with piano.

In the spring of 2022, Tophouse began posting videos of their performances on social media. Much to their surprise, within weeks their posts began getting traction and the views continued to multiply as their online following expanded quickly and consistently. Wasting no time, the boys sought to move this connection with new fans from the screen to real life. The started booking shows themselves and began touring as much as possible wherever possible. They played any stage, backyard, bar, brewery or living room that would have them between Nashville and Montana. Somehow, word spread and people kept showing up, sometimes driving hours to attend these tiny shows. It was truly amazing and the four band-members took none of it for granted. The growing audience only made them work harder on both on their live experience and cultivating a community with their fans.