Bill Mallonee

It was a grueling ten-year odyssey for the Athens, Georgia-based Vigilantes of Love. After ten albums and too many hours packed into a tiny tour van, Vigilantes frontman Bill Mallonee amicably parted ways with bandmates Jake Bradley and Kevin Heuer in early 2002 to embark on a solo career. Not one to waste a moment, Mallonee released two full albums in less than a year — his solo debut, Fetal Position, and his most recent outing, Locket Full of Moonlight. The Vigilantes’ Southern alt-country aesthetic, which took on a decidedly Brit-pop twist with the band’s final album, Summershine, continues to evolve with Mallonee’s work. Given Old 97’s leader Rhett Miller’s solo accomplishment with The Instigator and Wilco’s raging success exploring the modern side of neo-Beatles pop on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Mallonee’s talents are maturing at just the right time.