The Vaticans are an Indie Rock band from Lexington, Kentucky. Described as Indie-Americana-Rock, Gothic-Americana, even Punk-Country, The Vaticans have recently worked in Nashville with producer/engineer Pat Holt (Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, James Taylor, etc…). 

The band is led by songwriter/lead vocalist Steven Zunker, who started out his career as a solo artist. Zunker released his debut album Windigo in 2008. The album was referred to as “Southern rock for a Gothick cathedral, high-church Americana, the soundtrack for a Flannery O’Connor short story.” - University of Kentucky Media

“His intriguingly atmospheric compositions seem like Gothic audio scenes. For anyone who likes the          unpredictable, it’s a must.” - Rootstime Music

In 2012, Zunker joined up with Garrett Hodges (lead guitar), Ryan Givhan (Bass), and Madison Pohl (drums) to form The Vaticans. With influences such as Johnny Cash, Murder By Death, 16 Horsepower, and Nick Cave, the band’s music has pushed the needle more toward the rock end of the Indie Rock spectrum (“Wolves”, “Taste of Hell”, and “Caroline”), with some songs still hinting back to Zunker’s hushed Americana songwriter roots (“Southern Belles” and “Cumberland”).

The Vaticans will release a full length studio album in the fall of 2016 titled Heirloom. Produced by Zunker, the album is a mix of songs recorded in Nashville, among other locations, and features engineers like Holt and John Howard (Oakwood Sound). The Vaticans are also hitting the road this year to support the release of the new album.