Artist Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

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Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

With Alex Ebert at the helm, it’s surprising that Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros’ live shows turn into hootenannies rather than raves. The former Ima Robot frontman made a name for himself with electro-punk, after all—but once that band’s momentum fizzled, he traded his partially shaved mullet for the mountain of unwashed hippie hair that’s become endemic among freak-folkers. As Edward Sharpe, Ebert conducts an army-sized band through ensemble-style folk-pop with an emphasis on percussion. The collective’s 2009 debut album, Up From Below, revels in the sort of Woodstock-era optimism that artists from Los Angeles’ Laurel Canyon have been digging at for the last few years.

Updated 07/27/2010