Dear Congress, (17) – Dispatch

The New England jam band Dispatch comprised Brad Corrigan, Pete Heimbold, and Chad Urmston, who first got together while attending Middlebury College in Vermont. The young band debuted in 1996 with Silent Steeples and returned a year later with Bang Bang. Both albums displayed the trio’s three-part harmonies and cheeky, college-friendly mix of Barenaked Ladies-style acoustic pop and folk-rock, with some reggae and funk influences tossed in for good measure. June 2000 saw the release of Four-Day Trials, a fan-friendly album of first takes and live favorites that featured a jammy take on the Beastie Boys’ “Root Down.” Who Are We Living For? followed that October, and was marked by a protest song vibe to go with the normal round of good-time grooves. By this point, Dispatch had built a sizable East Coast following due to frequent university gigs and a strong Internet presence. The buzz secured the band some national modern rock airplay of the reggae-tinged single “Open Up.” They returned in 2001 with Gut the Van, which enjoyed national distribution through the Digital Club Network online store and showcased the band’s energetic live act. In 2003, however, the bandmates announced their amicable decision to split up; the following year, Dispatch played what was said to be the band’s final concert, a free show that drew upwards of 110,000 fans to the Hatch Shell in Boston. The live album All Points Bulletin documented the event, and the three members subsequently disbanded to pursue other ventures. Fans didn’t have to wait long for a reunion, however, as Dispatch reunited in the summer of 2007 for a string of benefit concerts. A CD/DVD package, Dispatch: Zimbabwe: Live at Madison Square Garden, was released to commemorate the shows. In 2011, the band announced that they would be reuniting, playing a series of shows across the United States. Together again, Dispatch released Circles Around the Sun, an album produced by Peter Katis (Interpol, Jonsi, the National), which found the band exploring an expansive new sound after their ten-year hiatus. It was followed in 2013 by the double-disc live album Ain’t No Trip to Cleveland, Vol. 1. The band then retreated into the studio to begin work on their next album, taking time out to play their second headlining show at Madison Square Garden in July of 2015. That studio effort, America, Location 12, was released in June 2017, and Dispatch set out on tour in support, playing a string of dates in the United States (with Guster) and Europe (with Current Swell). ~ Johnny Loftus