The Price of Progress comes as the Hold Steady turns 20 years old. It is their third record with producer Josh Kaufman, and most expansive record yet, while also being unmistakably a THS record.
Formed in 2003, the Hold Steady have released eight albums, numerous singles and played over 1000 shows. The band wrote the songs on their latest album mostly in 2021, and a few have been part of recent live shows. Craig Finn says “These are some of the most cinematic songs in The Hold Steady catalog, and the record was a joy to make. I feel like we went somewhere we haven’t before, which is a very exciting thing for a band that is two decades in.”
The Brooklyn-based band has performed in all 50 states in the USA and throughout Canada, Europe and Australia. Their music has appeared across movies, advertising and TV, including on Game Of Thrones and Billions, in addition to writing original material for Seth Meyers cartoon The Awesomes and Meyers’ 2019 stand-up comedy special Lobby Baby.
Released in early 2021, The Hold Steady’s previous record Open Door Policy, achieved the band’s highest chart position of any album, debuting at No. 6 on the Billboard Current Album Chart. Vulture gushed the record “expands their horizons,” and “gives the Hold Steady new heft and variety without undercutting the sharpness of the hooks or singer-guitarist Craig Finn’s heart-wrenching novelistic lyricism.”
The 20th anniversary of the Hold Steady will see an expanded collection of activities and music releases to celebrate the milestone with fans. The Hold Steady is: Bobby Drake (drums), Craig Finn (vocals), Tad Kubler (guitar, vocals), Franz Nicolay (keyboards, vocals), Galen Polivka (bass), and Steve Selvidge (guitar, vocals).