Mighty Oaks are an indie/folk rock trio made up of Ian Hooper (US), Claudio Donzelli (Italy) and Craig Saunders (UK). They formed in 2010 and are based in Berlin. According to Allmusic, the group releases "tight, three-part harmonies and effusive, largely acoustic-driven folk anthems." In early 2014 they released their first LP, ''Howl'', on Universal Records. The album peaked at No. 10 on the Official German charts with several singles charting as well. They have since released a second LP, ''Dreamers'' (2017), and an EP, ''Storm'' (2017). On the 7th of February 2020, they released their third full-length album, ''All Things Go''.

History

2010–12: Founding, first EPs

Mighty Oaks was formed in early 2010 by instrumentalists and vocalists Ian Hooper ( United States), Claudio Donzelli ( Italy), and Craig Saunders ( United Kingdom). Hooper had moved to Hamburg after college some time before, and had befriended bassist Saunders when both were working on solo material as singer-songwriters. Several months later they met Donzelli at a small acoustic festival, and kept in touch afterwards. All three members had an interest in indie rock and folk rock, and together began focusing on guitar and instruments such as

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

. The group self-released an EP on March 21, 2011, recording it themselves in Donzelli's apartment. Though never officially released on a label, the EP garnered several hundred thousand hits on SoundCloud.

2012–14: Studio releases

The group began focusing fully on their music in the middle of 2012, beginning to record in a studio. In the summer of 2012 they self-released their first studio EP, ''Just One Day,'' distributed through

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...

. In support of the EP they toured with

Shout Out Louds Shout Out Louds is a Swedish indie pop band from Stockholm. History Formed in Stockholm by childhood friends Adam Olenius (vocals), Ted Malmros (bass), and Carl von Arbin (guitars), Shout Out Louds found an international audience during the e ...

in Europe, opened the Waldbühne in Berlin for Kings of Leon, and joined bands such as

Chvrches Chvrches (stylised CHVRCHΞS and pronounced "Churches") are a Scottish pop band from Glasgow, formed in September 2011. The band consists of Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook, Martin Doherty and, unofficially since 2018, Jonny Scott. Mostly deriving f ...

on the 'Introducing!' tour of Germany put on by ''Intro Magazine''. The band later played a sold-out tour of

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, Austria, and Germany in the fall of 2013.

2014–2019: ''Howl'' and ''Dreamers''

In early 2014 they released their first LP, ''Howl'', on Universal Records in Europe. The album peaked at No. 10 on the German chart, with several singles charting as well. It reached the top 10 on the charts in

, also charting in several other European countries. In early 2014 the band released the single "Brother," releasing a music video which was filmed in Washington state. The band stated that "‘Brother’ is based on Ian’s relationship with his best friend in the States, and their adventures and maturation in the...Pacific Northwest of America." They released the EP ''Brother'' in the United States in October 2014. About the EP, the band explained that "each song represents a different excerpt from a point in Ian’s life and, in such, we treated each track as a different scene in a movie, or chapter in a novel, hoping that each one would carry its own meaning and be surrounded by its own world and emotion." Major festival performances from 2014 included events such as the Melt! Festival and Dockville in Germany, the Montreux Jazz Festival in

Latitude Festival The Latitude Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Henham Park, near Southwold, Suffolk, England. It was first held in July 2006 and has been held every year since, apart from 2020, when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 ...

in the UK, Slotsfjell in Norway, Way Out West in Sweden, Exit Festival in Serbia, and Valkhof (NL). As of December 2014 the group was touring Europe on The Golden Road Tour. Their debut album was released in the United States in the spring of 2015 and the band played festivals like

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

in Austin, Texas in support of the release and went on a US tour to perform together with Milky Chance. 2016 was a year of turning points and upheavals, also for the band whose members took a break after two years of uninterrupted touring and left Berlin to temporarily return to their home countries. They all reunited in Washington State, not far from Ian's hometown, where the band retreated to the studio of producer Ryan Hadlock ( The Lumineers, Vance Joy, etc.). It was there that they recorded ''Dreamers'', their second album, which was released on March 24, 2017 on Universal Music. The band went on a sold-out Europe tour in spring, a North American tour in September and a follow-up European tour in November and December 2017. Just before the band started off for their winter tour, they self-released a 4-track EP called ''Storm''. In the summer of 2018 they played several European festivals, among them Hurricane Festival and Southside Festival, Traumzeit Festival, Zermatt Unplugged and a Milky Chance & Friends Open Air in Berlin. According to thei
Instagram page
the band has retreated to the studio in autumn 2018 to work on new music.

2020–present: ''All Things Go & Mexico''

The band's third studio album, ''All Things Go'', was released on February 7, 2020, via

BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations * Music publishing companies: ** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 *** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...

. Their fourth studio album, ''Mexico'', was released on May 7, 2021, via Sony Music.

Style and influences

According to Allmusic, the group releases "tight, three-part harmonies and effusive, largely acoustic-driven folk anthems." The band's lyrics are mostly autobiographical, often focusing on themes such as nature, family, friendship, love, loss, and beauty. Songs periodically reference the Pacific Northwest of North America, where Hooper is from. All members contribute to the songwriting process.

Members

* Ian Hooper (2010–present) - vocals, acoustic/electric guitar, mandolin, ukulele * Claudio Donzelli (2010–present) - vocals, electric/acoustic guitar, piano, mandolin, banjo * Craig Saunders (2010–present) - vocals, bass, mandolin

Awards and nominations

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

References

External links

Official website

Mighty Oaks
on Facebook
Mighty Oaks
on Twitter {{DEFAULTSORT:Mighty Oaks Musical groups established in 2010 German musical groups 2010 establishments in Germany