Chicago six-piece Six Foot Blonde move toward a rock-forward, danceable sound on their sophomore album Hummingbird, shaped by collective songwriting, childhood musical influences, and the band’s evolution from a nine-member college group to a touring six-piece.
by guest writer Olivia Sigunick Stream: 'Hummingbird' – Six Foot Blonde I think our songwriting voices have become a voice.
The Chicago-based band is turning up the rock, turning down the pop, and hitting the road for their first national tour and the release of their second studio album.
The logical part of me is like, yeah, of course you would steadily grow, but I don't think I realized how far we would get," Rusyniak tells Atwood Magazine.
The band started in Bloomington, Indiana, as a college-affiliated ensemble called Bloomington Delta Music Club. Early on they were a nine-member cover group playing local bars. That lineup winnowed to six members by the time they began releasing original material.
Their first original single, "Callin' to Karma" (2022), proved a turning point. The song became a reliable concert-ender and pushed them out of the local scene: it reached tens of thousands of streams within months and later climbed toward roughly 2 million streams. That track introduced listeners to the band's blend of soul, power pop, and jazz textures—complete with saxophone and trumpet and a punchy rhythm section.
Current members include lead singer Julia Rusyniak, John Alex Rusyniak on piano and saxophone, guitarists Elliot Obermaier and Zach Patrick, Dom Heyob on bass, and Brian Healey on drums. Julia's vocal style has been described in the piece as soulful and forceful, with comparisons drawn to Amy Winehouse for its chest-driven power and smooth tone.
From quarantine jams to national tour
During COVID the group used outdoor, socially distanced jams as a way to keep playing together. Those sessions helped the collection of players stay connected and later transition into a tighter, road-ready lineup. The band is now preparing for their first national tour alongside the release of Hummingbird.
Nature and memory recur as source material across the record. The band used images of sands, seas, and skies as inspiration while crafting lyrics and sonic textures that pair upbeat instrumentation with emotionally charged subject matter.
What began as a college project evolved into a band with a committed following. Fans now attend shows regularly, sing along to the full catalog, and some have even tattooed lyrics. The dynamic between energetic arrangements and emotionally weighty lyrics helps the band occupy both dance-floor and deeper-listening spaces.
Hummingbird represents a next step rather than a reinvention: a more confident, rock-leaning Six Foot Blonde that writes songs collectively, draws on personal and natural imagery, and is set up to bring that sound to a national audience.
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