The Mastersons

Two heads are better than one, or at least that’s what The Mastersons will tell you. Chris Masterson and Eleanor Whitmore are singer-songwriters/multi-instrumentalists. The musical and marital twosome make inspired albums of their own emotionally vivid, deeply humanistic songs. The pair have released four critically acclaimed albums. In 2012 their debut album Birds Fly South was a breakout critical hit on both sides of the pond, with Uncut awarding the album 9/10 stars and Esquire dubbing The Mastersons one of the “Bands You Need To Know Right Now”. Two years later, they followed it up with Good Luck Charm, premiered by the NY Times and praised by Mother Jones for its “big-hearted lyrics, tight song structures, and sweetly intertwined harmonies.”Popmatters ranked it “among the top Americana releases of 2014,” while American Songwriter called it “a perfect soundtrack for a summer of warm nights and hot, lazy days,” and the Austin Chronicle praised the band’s “spunky wit and rare measure of emotional maturity.”2017saw the release of Transient Lullaby which had a decidedly darker, more mellow approach, still possessing the uncanny rapport that they’ve developed in their experiences living, touring and making music together. In 2020 they released their fourth album No Time for Love Songs, produced by Shooter Jennings.

On top of their own recorded output, Chris & Eleanor have played on record and stage with some legendary artists, as each of them have had considerable success as instrumentalists-for-hire. Eleanor has performed with Elvis Costello, Kelly Willis, Angus and Julia Stone to name a few, while Chris plays guitar alongside Jakob Dylan in The Wallflowers. He’s also played with Son Volt, Jack Ingram, Bobby Bare Jr and others in addition to being a producer and musical director. Both individually and together Chris and Eleanor have played on a plethora of records including Tanya Tucker’s Grammy Award Winning Album, While I’m Livin’, and they most recently completed a 12-year / 7 album stint as members of Steve Earle’s band The Dukes. During their tenure they also backed Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, Jason Isbell many others w/ their bandmates in The Dukes.

Currently residing in Los Angeles, California the pair are working on their fifth album, producing other artists in their LA studio, and holding court at Hollywood club Gold-Diggers for their bi-monthly residency “The Mastersons & Friends “where the duo shares the stage with some of the many musicians they’ve come to know over the years.