UNLOVEABLE: A SMITHS & MORRISSEY VALENTINES DAY FEATURING THE SONS & HEIRS, HOSTED BY ROLLING STONE'S ROB SHEFFIELD + SPECIAL GUESTS

"The best NYC Smiths tribute" - New York Post

"These guys love the band, and they’re really passionate about it”
- Andy Rourke, The Smiths

The Sons & Heirs (A Tribute to The Smiths & Morrissey)

by Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone

The Sons & Heirs. NYC’s finest band devoted to the music of the Smiths and Morrissey. Handsome devils. Stalwart lovers for sure. They’re twice as much fun as an actual Morrissey show — because they bring more heart and enthusiasm to these songs than the man himself.

The Sons & Heirs have played this music all over the world, from Tel Aviv to Los Angeles. Their Valentine’s Day event Unloveable has become a New York ritual—every year it’s the toughest ticket in town. In 2015 they headlined the international Smiths-Morrissey convention in Hollywood.

Wherever The Sons & Heirs play, they bring passionate love for the whole musical journey of Morrissey, Marr and their mates — the songs that saved our lives. That’s why they always bring out a crowd of fans who love the Smiths as much as they do. (Including an actual member of the Smiths, Andy Rourke, as well as Morrissey’s long-time drummer, Spencer Cobrin - both got up on stage to play with them.)

The Sons & Heirs invite the crowd to sing along, dance, invade the stage. There’s always a song I’d forgotten about, always a song that makes me think “well, they won’t top this one tonight,” until they do. They open my eyes, like a tattooed boy from Birkenhead.

Every show is different. Every show permanently changes my mind about this or that song’s brilliance. These guys have single-handedly made “Alma Matters” one of my favorites. I have seen them destroy a room with “Bigmouth Strikes Again.” I’ve even watched them slay on a concert cruise. You have never been in love until you’ve seen a boat full of rowdy Smiths fans sloshing down the East River, bellowing the lyrics of “Panic” to the Statue of Liberty. (And you have never seen confusion until you’ve seen the boat’s crew sweeping up the flowers afterward.)

The Sons & Heirs get the tiniest details right, but more importantly, they bring the spirit that makes this music immortal. They sing their lives, and probably your life, too. Definitely mine.


Rob Sheffield is a columnist for Rolling Stone, where he has been writing about music, TV, and pop culture since 1997. He is the author of two national bestsellers "Love Is a Mix Tape: Love and Loss, One Song at a Time" and "Talking to Girls About Duran Duran: One Young Man's Quest for True Love and a Cooler Haircut." He also appears regularly on VH1. His new book is "Turn Around Bright Eyes: The Rituals of Love & Karaoke." Rob lives with his wife in Brooklyn.