The Milk Carton Kids

A Grammy Award-nominated indie folk duo from Los Angeles, the Milk Carton Kids consist of Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan, who shelved their solo careers in favor of a collaborative project focused on harmonized vocals, entwined acoustic guitars, and rootsy songwriting. After launching in early 2021, they released their first two albums -- the live Retrospect and studio LP Prologue -- later in the year. Known on the road for their adversarial, Smothers Brothers-evoking comedic banter as well as their virtuosic guitar skills (Pattengale's intricate picking and Ryan's airtight rhythm guitar), they added a backing band to the project for the first time in 2018 with their fourth studio album, All the Things That I Did and All the Things That I Didn't Do. They played with instrumentation while returning to a more minimalist sound on releases including 2023's I Only See the Moon and 2026's Lost Cause Lover Fool.