Thao & The Get Down Stay Down Announce Breakup

Thao & The Get Down Stay Down have announced that they are breaking up. “After over a decade of making music together, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down is dissolving,” the group wrote in a statement on social media. “Thank you to all who have recorded and performed with us. Thao and Adam are each moving on to pursue other projects.”

Thao Nguyen started the band while studying at Virginia’s College Of William & Mary in 2003. That’s where she linked up with drummer Willis Thompson, who left the band in 2010. She met Adam Thompson (no relation) at a show in Richmond — he was the only other consistent member of the Get Down Stay Down from beginning to end. They released their debut album, We Brave Bee Stings And All, in 2008. Know Better Learn Faster followed the next year.

Thao & The Get Down Stay Down’s most recent album, their fifth full-length Temple, came out last year. Nguyen, the public face of the band, co-produced it with Thompson, who also co-wrote some of its songs. A deluxe edition of Temple is due out at the end of this month.

Nguyen recently wrapped up a tour opening for Julien Baker and it seems like she’ll be going by the mononymous Thao going forward.