Event

Pete Francis (Dispatch) + Keaton Simons

Guitarist, bassist, and vocalist Pete Francis Heimbold originally gained a cult following as one-third of the group Dispatch. Heimbold was all of 21 years old when he met up with guitarist/bassist/songwriter Chad Urmston and drummer Brad Corrigan at Middlebury College in Vermont, where the three formed a band under the moniker One Fell Swoop, but soon changed the name to Dispatch due to a St. Louis group also with the name One Fell Swoop. Between 1995 and 2001, Dispatch put out five releases and toured the East Coast and Midwest, regularly sold out shows, and developed a strong following.

In 2004 Dispatch celebrated a remarkable eight-year run by performing a farewell show in Boston, MA. Over 110,000 fans were in attendance, making it the largest independent music event in history. Three years later, the band reunited at Madison Square Garden in New York City playing three sold-out nights benefiting charities to combat famine, disease, and social injustice in Zimbabwe. They made history once again as the first independent band to headline the Garden.

The group decided to take an extended hiatus and Heimbold seized the opportunity by cutting his first solo record, Untold. He chose to release the album under his first and middle name, Pete Francis (only slightly confusing fans of Dispatch), which served as a signal to the new direction he was taking in his songwriting. Untold was released to positive reviews in May of 2003. As an interesting side note, Pete Francis' father, Charles A. Heimbold, is the United States ambassador to Sweden.