Thao & the Get Down Stay Down, the band fronted by Thao Nguyen, have announced on social media 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. “Thank you to all who have recorded and performed with us. Thao and Adam are each moving on to pursue other projects.”
Nguyen formed the band, which was originally named Thao With the Get Down Stay Down, while studying at Virginia’s College Of William & Mary in 2003. There, she teamed up with drummer Willis Thompson, who left the band in 2010. She met Adam Thompson, the only other consistent member of the group, at a show in Richmond. The band’s first album We Brave Bee Stings and All came out in 2008 by Kill Rock Stars, followed by 2009’s Know Better Learn Faster. The band subsequently signed to Ribbon Music for their next three records: We the Common (2013), A Man Alive (2016), and Temple (2020).
— Thao (@thaogetstaydown) October 3, 2021
