Thao & The Get Down Stay Down Break Up After 18 Years

Thao & the Get Down Stay Down, the indie rock collaboration between Thao Nguyen and Adam Thompson, is breaking up. The pair have announced via Instagram that their time together is coming to an end while they will both begin to “pursue other projects.” Their statement read: “After over a decade of making music together, Thao & the Get Down Stay Down is dissolving. Thank you to all who have recorded and performed with us. Thao and Adam are each moving on to pursue other projects.”

The Bay-area based band formed in Virginia in 2003 before relocating to San Francisco and have released 5 studio albums over the course of the 18 years they’ve been performing together. However, earlier this year, Nguyen began performing solo shows under the name Thao, and in September she accompanied Julien Baker on tour without Thompson according to consequence.net. Thompson on the other hand has worked on a jazz inspired solo project under @the_okbird on Instagram, although it is still unclear whether he will pick the project back up after the band’s official split.

The band’s announcement comes after their latest album release in 2020, titled Temple. According to mxdwn writer Drew Feinerman, Temple was “Thao’s most honest and open project she has done, as the album reflects on her queer identity and the pain she faced hiding her true identity throughout most of her life. Although she fears her traditionally-forward family may reject her identity, she believes she must be true to herself through her music.”

Michelle Leidecker: Michelle Leidecker is a student writer based in New York City studying at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU. Growing up, she was a classically trained cellist, but pivoted into more modern music spheres, playing in a band and taking up music marketing. Always having a passion for writing and for music, she enjoys writing and reading about music whether it be for school or publications such as mxdwn. She hopes to continue on her path of writing and marketing within the music industry and being surrounded by music in her daily life. When she's not writing, you can find her trying new restaurants, travelling, and on her multiple social media accounts.
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