About

“(‘Troubadours’) contains some truly poetic storytelling. Full of adventure, romance, nostalgia and regret, it answers the call of the open road with a wistful trip through Americana.”
[Crotalus Records press release]

“Woody Guthrie meets the Flaming Lips… good stuff.”
[Cognizant]

“I wanted ‘Troubadours’ to take me to places I’ve never been and introduce me to characters I’ve never met, but make it all feel familiar and universal.  I think it’s safe to say they succeeded.”
[Us on Fire]

Jared A. Conti: vocals / whistling / beard
Anthony J. LaLota: vocals / guitar / sideburns

With a folk heart and a punk soul, The Echo & Sway has been crooning in two-part harmony about life, love & the open road since 2008, busking a cappella under the wide open South Dakota sky, playing Londoners in post-gig chess matches, missing flights to enjoy a second bowl of the world’s best seafood chowder in Dublin, hiking the mountains of New York’s Hudson Valley, losing themselves on the back roads of rural Ontario, frequenting a central Pennsylvania coffee shop… and a ton of stuff in between.

In 2010 they released their first EP It Can Get Better, featuring eight tracks that mixed Conti’s wry poetry & relaxed delivery with LaLota’s soulful voice & no-frills guitar strumming.  While lauded by fans the album was hindered by rushed recording & production and wasn’t made available after the first pressing.

Eight years and many miles later they’re celebrating the release of their debut full-length, The Trials & Tribulations of Two Traveling Troubadours as they Traverse Tired Terrain & Tattered Turnpikes, Telling Tall Tales (we’ll call it Troubadours for short).  A long time coming, these nine songs tell the story of a weary but hopeful America, trapped by circumstance and longing for redemption.