The HercuLeons
The HercuLeons are a new project spearheaded by industry veterans and longtime friends/collaborators John Cowan and Andrea Zonn. Cowan, with his distinctive, rock-tinged tenor vocals, first achieved fame as the‘Voice of Newgrass’ fronting bluegrass greats New Grass Revival and has been a force in Americana music for four decades. Vocalist and violinist Zonn, with her background in both classical and traditional music, has recorded and toured with James Taylor, Vince Gill, Lyle Lovett and more. Their debut, Andrea Zonn & John Cowan Are The HERCULEONS, produced along with Wendy Waldman, will be released March 21, 2025 on True Lonesome Records.
The HercuLeons emerged as a creative project in the Spring of 2020 near the beginning of the global pandemic. Finding themselves on hiatus from touring, Cowan and Zonn kept the creative spark alive by working on music remotely, enlisting their friend, legendary producer and friend Wendy Waldman by sending audio files back and forth between Los Angeles and Nashville. This musical conversation, grown from a mutual love of timeless songs, evolved into an album’s worth of material and saw the band honing their material in front of packed crowds at their Nashville residency at 3rd & Lindsley.
The band name came from Cowan praising the “herculean” efforts of their live band, with a nod to one of his favorite musicians, Leon Russell.
Their debut, Andrea Zonn and John Cowan Are THE HERCULEONS, features the exquisite vocals and world-class musicianship you’d expect from the group, blending Appalachian, soul, rock, and jazz creating to unique blend of Americana with a pop sensibility.
Highlights include originals by Cowan and Zonn with their versions of songs by Susan Warner, Gregory Porter, The Vaughan Brothers, Larry Campbell & William Bell and more.
Singer-songwriter-fiddler Andrea Zonn is a rare breed in modern music. Her precision and grace, encompassing her wide-ranging classical and traditional music styles, has brought Zonn to tour and record with legendary artists over the years. For her contributions to countless records, Zonn has been heralded as a Nashville Cat by the Country Music Hall of Fame. She’s also released two critically acclaimed solo albums.
John Cowan, along with fellow New Grass Revival band mates Sam Bush, Courtney Johnson, and Curtis Burch, and later Bela Fleck and Pat Flynn, introduced a new generation of music fans to an explosive, experimental and ultimately, eponymous brand of bluegrass. New Grass Revival was inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2020. Along with his solo projects, Cowan has toured as bassist with The Doobie Brothers since 2010.
