Family of the Year

Sunny Los Angeles-based indie pop outfit Family of the Year formed in 2009 around the talents of Welsh brothers Joseph and Sebastian Keefe, Florida native James Buckey, and Orange County, California denizen Christina Schroeter. Employing a heady mix of Beach Boys-inspired, male/female harmonies and a penchant for cleverly arranged, folk-influenced pop confections in the vein of Mates of State, Phoenix, Essex Green, and Local Natives, the band released their debut EP Where’s the Sun in September 2009 on their own Washashore imprint, followed by the full-length Songbook later that year. The Through the Trees EP arrived in 2010, followed by another EP, St. Croix, in 2011.