'Music runs deep in Cincinnati.' The National talks hometown roots, music festival

Known for its melancholy yet genuine hits crossing decades of music, The National has become a world-renowned rock band.

This fall alone, the group will perform in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Amsterdam, Germany, Spain and Portugal. But its roots are deeply entrenched in Cincinnati.

All its members, Matt Berninger, Aaron and Bryce Dessner, and Bryan and Scott Devendorf, are from the Queen City. And that has bonded them together all these years.

"I really do think just the fact that all five of us are from Cincinnati – there is a bond," Berninger, the lead singer and a University of Cincinnati graduate, said.

The National returns home this week for its Homecoming festival Friday and Saturday at Smale Park. We chatted with Berninger and Bryce Dessner about their connections to Cincinnati, the band's longevity, the festival and Taylor Swift. Read our conversations with them below.

These interviews were edited and condensed for length and clarity.

On their connection to Cincinnati

The National consists of two sets of brothers, Aaron and Bryce Dessner and Bryan and Scott Devendorf. Scott met Berninger in college at UC's College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, and the two played in a band together called Nancy. They graduated in 1996, but formed The National with Bryan, Bryce and Aaron in Brooklyn, New York, a few years later in 1999.

How did growing up in Cincinnati influence your music career?

Bryce: Cincinnati has a great music scene. We had different experiences, we're all from different parts of town. We had bands together and separately. There was music around, and it was accessible because it's not a huge city. It's a small city, so we were able to go see things. And for me personally, the orchestra, the ballet, the College-Conservatory of Music, all of that was important to me growing up as well. I think the music runs deep in Cincinnati.

Matt: When I was probably in grade school, but definitely into high school, WOXY, 97X out of Oxford was the radio station. And I think that radio station made me become obsessed with music in a different way. My sister brought home records, like The Smiths and U2 and R.E.M. ... So I think 97X was probably the most influential thing, my sister's record collection and that radio station.

And then I just would go see everything, shows at Bogart's and shows at Sudsy Malone’s, and I'd go up to Dayton. There was a really healthy scene. ... And I think 97X was essential to that and essential to my falling in love with music.

I feel like Cincinnati has an underrated music history, with King Records and various other successful artists. What do you think is the best way to describe it?

Bryce: As a river town, there's a delta of musical styles, where you have the important 19th-century orchestral hall that was very, very important in the history of music in the United States. And then you have King Records, the country or rockabilly or later with soul music with Bootsy Collins, and all this history. Then for us, as we come into Cincinnati as kids, there was the punk and post-punk stuff that was happening that was also big.

So I think you might know Memphis or Nashville and New Orleans better for their musical contribution. But I think Cincinnati's an important musical outpost.

Matt: It's a strange mix. I don't know if there was ever a particular scene. There was a phase there where little clubs, like Jockey Club, would pop up. ... If a town will get bands, especially someplace like Cincinnati that's near Chicago – in the Midwest, bands traveling around need these ports that aren't too far away – and all it takes is a little club to pop up and make it a destination.

Cincinnati's always had a really healthy underground, alternative scene, but it's just a mixture of every kind of band that would come through. And King Records and all of that was sort of the same thing, different pockets of music – there would be a need for it. In the Midwest desert, there's still a need for this kind of different music.

It's really eclectic. There wasn't any particular Cincinnati sound. You could talk to Bootsy Collins, and I have, I've talked to him about the Cincinnati sound. And it's just such a mixture of stuff.

Is there anything you look forward to when coming home?

Bryce: There's just a sweetness in the air in Cincinnati. It's the thing of where you're from is the place you feel the most at home, no matter where you live now. So there's something about – for me, it's partly like the woods where I grew up or also being down by the river. There's just a feeling in the air that feels so familiar and kind of beautiful.

On The National's longevity

Despite forming over two decades ago, The National has continued to find success. The band has received three Grammy nominations, and its album "Sleep Well Beast" won one in 2017 for Best Alternative Music Album. And the group continues making impactful music. It released its ninth studio album, "First Two Pages of Frankenstein," in April, which features collaborations with Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers, and two singles in August, "Space Invader" and “Alphabet City."

The National has had success for decades. What are you most proud of when it comes to the band?

Matt: The most significant accomplishment has been our ability to stay a band. I really do think just the fact that all five of us are from Cincinnati – there is a bond. ... We have such roots together, even going back before we even met each other. Bryan played drums with Aaron and Bryce when he was a teenager, so it goes back.

Just continuing on and ignoring all the waves that knocked us back, and kept pushing forward. ... I think that's what I feel best about. I'm very proud of everything we've made artistically, but mostly just the continuation of our friendship and our ability to keep trying to think and reinvent and have us stay really exciting.

Can you also attest to the band's longevity?

Bryce: It's that sense of family that keeps us together. Families fall apart also. So you got to take care of your family, and that we've been learning about more recently. Just to care for each other. Everybody's got kids now and we're in a different phase of life, so we try to balance the hard knocks of touring and working with what everybody needs personally. That's important. In the past, we maybe didn't do that so well, but it feels now going forward that we're better about keeping track of where everybody's at personally.

There is the harsh reality of we have to remain really interested in what we're doing. So I think the minute it stops being interesting, the band won't exist or it will stop working actively. For us, it's always important to feel like we're moving forward.

How the band started working with Taylor Swift

Music superstar Taylor Swift has essentially become an honorary member of The National. Bryce worked on her album "Folklore," and she featured the band in the song "Coney Island" on her album "Evermore." Aaron also co-wrote and co-produced both those albums, winning a Grammy for Album of the Year with "Folklore." He has since co-produced multiple Swift albums, including "Midnights" and "Red (Taylor's Version)."

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During Swift's Eras Tour show at Cincinnati's Paycor Stadium in July, she surprised the crowd by bringing Aaron on stage. The two performed "Ivy" from "Evermore" together.

What has working with Taylor Swift been like?

Matt: I've known Taylor for a long time, and we've known she was a fan. I met her 10 years ago.

When she started working with Aaron, it was really organic. It made a lot of sense. I never would've thought of it a long time ago. But when those kinds of things happened, they were really organic and a natural part of our sort of extended family of friends and collaborators and people we've been making music with for a long time. So it didn't feel like that much of a stretch for us. But looking at it from a big-picture perspective, it kind of seems unlikely. It's a fun, exciting crossover.

Bryce: We were aware that Taylor was a fan of our music because she would post occasionally a playlist with songs of ours. And we heard through mutual friends about that. She eventually came to see us play in Brooklyn, the summer before the pandemic. And we spent some time with her. She's just an amazing person, really inspiring. She reached out during COVID, and Aaron was in studio. And that started that collaboration, and I was happy to be a part of it.

We never expected something like that to happen, obviously. Historically, I don't know that there's that many artists who've sort of reached that level that she has. It's an honor to know her and to witness that. To have her play any role in our music is amazing.

Looking forward to the Homecoming festival

In addition to a stacked Homecoming festival lineup featuring Patti Smith the first day and Pavement the second, the band will play a different album in full on both nights: "High Violet" on Friday and "Trouble Will Find Me" on Saturday.

Matt: I'm nervous about that because there's a handful of songs on both of those records that for me have always been like my kryptonite. There's a song called "Slipped," which, I love this song, but I don't know if I have ever performed it well or right. But we've, especially since coming back and out of the pandemic and becoming a creative band again, we've started to play lots of old stuff. And we've started to play stuff we haven't released yet. We've been embracing, "It doesn't matter if we know this song perfectly."

Bryce: The festival is something we care a lot about. We did it a few years ago now, and there was one that was canceled because of COVID. So we've just been really excited to come back and present these two records that are so seminal for us.

"High Violet" was really kind of the moment things exploded for The National and has some of our best-known songs on it, like "Bloodbuzz Ohio," which will be fun to play in Cincinnati. And "Trouble Will Find Me" I think we all agree is our most realized record in terms of we really pushed ourselves and it feels like on some level one of the best versions of ourselves that we put forward.

The bill, the other artists we have invited, is so exciting to me. ... So many great artists. I think it's going to be really, really fun and celebratory and a good time.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: The National talks Taylor Swift collabs, Homecoming festival