Sixpence None the Richer are a Texas-based group who rose to mainstream popularity in the late '90s with a catchy blend of melodic alt pop and Christian rock. Named after a passage by author C.S. Lewis, the band achieved breakout success with their eponymous 1997 album and its jangly pop single "Kiss Me." Prominent television and film placements of their cover of the La's "There She Goes" and Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over" further fueled Sixpence's rise, though they temporarily disbanded in 2004. A subsequent reunion yielded both an EP and a 2012 full-length, Lost in Transition, after which they again went on hiatus. In 2024, Sixpence launched a 25th anniversary tour of their breakout 1997 album (which originally peaked in 1999) and released an EP, Rosemary Hill.
Sixpence None the Richer formed in the early '90s when guitarist Matt Slocum met vocalist Leigh Nash at a church retreat. Initially a trio rounded out by bassist T.J. Behling, the group recorded a demo before signing with R.E.X. Records, a label that previously specialized in Christian metal. Their debut LP, The Fatherless & the Widow, appeared in 1993. With the addition of rhythm guitarist Tess Wiley, new bassist J.J. Plasencio, and drummer Dale Baker, Sixpence None the Richer toured before returning to the studio to record their sophomore effort, 1995's This Beautiful Mess. The album won a Dove Award and was followed by another EP, Tickets for a Prayer Wheel. Wiley and Plasencio both departed ahead of their next release and new bassist Justin Cary joined the group.
Although issued in 1997, their third album, Sixpence None the Richer, didn't take off until 1999, when the dreamy track "Kiss Me" was released as a single. The song was featured on the third season of Dawson's Creek and catapulted Sixpence into the mainstream, earning airplay in more than ten different countries. Accolades continued as the band's rendition of the La's' "There She Goes" also became a major hit, thanks in part to its inclusion in the Nickelodeon film Snow Day. The album itself went platinum. The new millennium looked bright as the band weathered the departure of founding drummer Dale Baker (replaced in 2001 by Rob Mitchell) and inked a new record deal with Reprise. In fall 2002, the they returned to form with the lushly beautiful Divine Discontent. Their cover of the Crowded House classic "Don't Dream It's Over" pushed them back into the charts in early 2003, and the song's inclusion on the soundtrack to the WB's Smallville was a major hit among the teen audience. Nevertheless, the group disbanded in 2004, with Matt Slocum launching his own group soon after the split and Leigh Nash pursuing a solo career. The breakup turned out to be little more than a hiatus, however, as Sixpence reunited in 2007 and released the My Dear Machine EP. Cross-Atlantic tour dates followed, and a Christmas-themed effort titled The Dawn of Grace arrived just before the holiday season in late 2008. They signed with Credential Recordings the following year and began working on their next album. Delayed for several years, the group's sixth LP, Lost in Transition, eventually saw released in 2012 and bore a mix of introspective alt-pop with occasional country undertones. They continued to make occasional live appearances over the next few years, but with the release of Nash's 2015 solo album, The State I'm In, the band fell into another hiatus.
When Nash co-credited Sixpence on her 2023 single "The Tide," it signaled a possible band reunion which materialized a year later. Coinciding with the 25th anniversary of their breakout self-titled album, the classic late-'90s lineup of Nash, Slocum, Cary, and Baker reunited for a tour and the comeback single "We Are Love." An EP, Rosemary Hill, followed in October of that year. ~ Jason Ankeny
