Nathan & Stephen

When Hearts of Palm started out as Nathan & Stephen — a collaboration between Stephen Till of Black Black Ocean and longtime friend Nathan McGarvey — no one would have guessed that those spare songs would take on a new life once the project more than tripled its membership roster. Nathan & Stephen changed its name once it became a bit of a misnomer to cite only the band‘s primary songwriters, who wrote heartfelt, earnest pop songs of uncommon lyrical substance. McGarvey, a relative neophyte, proved to be a charismatic frontman matched in his passionate delivery only by the raw exuberance of the band. After an extended hiatus and a handful of regrettably short releases, Hearts of Palm will play its final set of shows this weekend (Friday, November 6, and Saturday, November 7, at the hi-dive) with the same vitality and positive spirit we‘ve come to expect.