Hem Essentials

Since 1999, New York City's Hem have specialized in dreamy, nocturnal soundscapes that borrow equally from lilting country, mournful folk and even elements of psychedelia. Smarter than your average indie folk band, Hem recruited a 21-piece orchestra for 2006's Funnel Cloud, have performed with the Boston Pops and provided the music for the Public Theater's 2009 production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night in Central Park. After a string of major label albums in the ‘00s, the group went independent at the turn of the decade, bringing fans and critics with them.