The Milk Carton Kids

Formed in 2011 in Eagle Rock, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, The Milk Carton Kids bring together singers and guitarists Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan around a stripped-down acoustic folk sound at the crossroads of Americana and indie folk. The duo first emerged with Retrospect in 2011, recorded before they adopted the name The Milk Carton Kids, and with Prologue the same year, their first album released under that name. Their songwriting relies on tight vocal harmonies, two guitars in dialogue, and spare arrangements that favor storytelling and melodic nuance. After early appearances on the North American folk scene — notably at SXSW and alongside Joe Purdy — The Milk Carton Kids broadened their audience with The Ash & Clay in 2013, followed by Monterey in 2015, where the acoustic formula occasionally expands into a wider sonic frame. The group continued this trajectory with All the Things That I Did and All the Things That I Didn’t Do (2018), The Only Ones (2019), and I Only See the Moon (2023). Over the years, The Milk Carton Kids have also appeared on platforms such as Austin City Limits, A Prairie Home Companion, and the concert film Another Day/Another Time, while remaining committed to a duo aesthetic defined by precise vocals, the counterpoint of guitars, and a restrained approach to the American song.