VIDEO: Bandits on the Run Release Anthemic New Single & Short Film

Bandits on the Run, the NYC-based indie-pop trio anchored by three-part harmonies and unique instrumentation, have released their new single, "Now Is The Time." Written while quarantining together and produced by Ryan Hadlock (The Lumineers, Brandi Carlile, Vance Joy), the anthemic song is a call to action to inspire people to see and create magic in times of darkness. The accompanying lyric video was filmed with a GoPro mounted to the dashboard of their van as they road-tripped - while keeping socially distant from others - to Washington state to record with Hadlock at Bear Creek Studio. Watch HERE.

Watch the new short film below!

"It's a protest song, it's a celebration song, it's a shout from the mountaintops - an urgent message to live in the present and to trust that the actions of today can change and shape the outcome of our future," cellist Sydney Shepherd says. "In our individual lives outside the band, we are each fiercely committed to activism and justice. 'Now Is The Time' is the first song of ours that combines those two forces within us."

Forged in the acoustics of NYC subway stations, Bandits on the Run are known for their inimitable harmonies and eclectic arrangements, including cello, melodica, accordion, and a variety of toy instruments. Born out of a chance encounter, when Shepherd encountered guitarist Adrian Blake Enscoe busking on an L-train platform, the group came together in earnest when Shepherd's longtime music collaborator, Regina Strayhorn, moved to NYC. Since the band's inception, they've brought their particular brand of live performance, charisma, and robust harmonic inventiveness from many a subway stop and street corner to a slew of notable venues as well as unexpected locations such as churches and motorcycle garages. Last year, they released the follow-up to their 2017 debut, The Criminal Record, Bandits Live at the Power Station, recorded in one night at the famed NYC studio. 2019 also saw Enscoe star opposite Hailee Steinfeld in Dickinson on AppleTV+.

In 2020, the Bandits were poised for some of their biggest performances yet - as official SXSW artists, as well as at The Kennedy Center in DC and New York's Webster Hall - and Enscoe was slated to appear in Swept Away, the musical based on the music of The Avett Brothers. Like most of the world, they saw their plans quickly deconstructed when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. However, in true Bandit style, they immediately started looking for ways to find the silver living. "As Bandits, we've always tried to be bearers of light, positivity, and community," explains Strayhorn. So, after sequestering themselves in North Carolina (where they'd been when their tour was officially canceled), they headed out west to record at the famed Bear Creek Studios with producer Ryan Hadlock. "Now Is The Time" is the first release from that collaboration. States Enscoe, "Considering everything that has happened this year and the stakes of what's going on right now, we felt we had to heed our own advice, seize the moment, and get this song out into the world right away."

Photo Credit: Beth Crane

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