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Foxes and Fossils is an American band led by Atlanta-based musician Tim Purcell. The name refers to their multi-generation makeup of younger ladies and older men. The group gained world-wide attention and notability for their video covers on YouTube, with over 50 million views by 2021, most of those since 2019, with increased recognition and online growth during the COVID-19 pandemic.

History
The group formed in early 2010 as a side project of Tim Purcell's established cover band, The Mustangs, which performed at community and corporate events in the Atlanta, Georgia, area for many years prior. . Together with his daughter Samantha (Sammie), then 15, and a friend from their church choir, Margaret (Maggie) Adams, then 16, Tim added friend Darwin Conort and fellow Mustangs musician Scott King, and performed one concert in their hometown of Smyrna, an Atlanta suburb. The experiment worked, so the group began a small number of additional shows in 2010. Fellow Mustangs John Pike and Toby Ruckert replaced Conort from 2011 to 2016. Chase Truran joined in 2015, recommended by the Mustangs' adult female vocalist, Amy Wallace, who taught music at a local school.

Between 2010 and 2017, the group performed about 40 summer concerts in the Atlanta area, capturing one concert a year on video, from which individual songs were posted on YouTube. The recordings were skillfully made, with video using multiple cameras by Terry Heinlein. The group took a hiatus in 2018, then in 2019, in response to their growing online fan base, began creating videos in Tim's basement studio, with all eight members. The group produced 45 videos from their live performances between 2010 and 2017, and 22 music video covers since 2019, as of November 2021, in addition to Q&A videos and other content. They have performed classic and more recent songs with vocal harmony, including some by Crosby, Stills & Nash, the Beach Boys, the Eagles, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt and Todd Rundgren.

Impact
Although they were initially a cover band performing only in local venues around Atlanta, the quality of their musicianship and their recordings uploaded to YouTube gave them a much greater audience and impact. Part of their growing reputation resulted from music fans denied live music events during the lockdowns imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic and hungry for something new.

The group attracted many online reviews noting the quality of their performances. They have been described as "genuine talent from deep in the American grain com[ing] out of the heartland and dent[ing] the decadent and depraved facade of the contemporary music 'scene' with music from the land, from the heart". Their popularity continued to grow, almost accidentally by word of mouth, and one of their first recordings, Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, had 4 million views by October 2021, and was praised by Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills & Nash, the group that first performed this song.

The development of the group was cited as a case study which highlighted the genesis, musical practices, and stimulation within the band and community, together with the critical importance of technology.

The group and its members have been guests for broadcasts and online podcasts, including Northern Spirit Radio and others.

Selected appearances

 * September 12, 2010, Yellow Daisy Festival, Stone Mountain Park, Atlanta, Georgia, opening for The Band Perry.
 * August 13, 2011, Woodstock Music Festival, Woodstock, Georgia, opening for Wet Willie.
 * June 6, 2014, Atlanta Botanical Gardens, opening for Creedence Clearwater Revisited.
 * March 19, 2021, ABC News, featured their cover of "World News Polka", the theme song for the overnight news show World News Now.
 * April 10, 2021, four members sang the National Anthem for a Major League Baseball game at Atlanta's Truist Park.

Musicians
The Fossils
 * Darwin Conort - guitar, lead and backing vocals, harmonica
 * Scott King - bass guitar, mandolin, backing vocals
 * Johnny Pike - drums, percussion, bass guitar
 * Tim Purcell - lead vocals, keyboards, rhythm guitar
 * Toby Ruckert - guitar

The Foxes
 * Maggie Adams - vocals
 * Sammie Purcell - vocals, harmonica
 * Chase Truran - vocals

Guest musicians
 * Brian Lewis, mandolin - "Amie", "Seven Bridges Road"
 * Rachel (Purcell) Kaercher, vocals - "Mr. Sandman"

Discography

 * "Live at Bella's" DVD, 2010
 * "A Curious Mix" CD, 2011
 * "Foxes and Fossils Live" CD, 2016
 * "Songs From the Basement" CD, 2020
 * "Have Yourself A Very Mellow Christmas" CD, 2021