The Welcome Wagon

The Welcome Wagon is a Gospel/indie pop band from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. The group consists of Presbyterian minister Thomas Vito Aiuto and his wife, Monique. Their debut album, Welcome to the Welcome Wagon (2008), was produced by Sufjan Stevens. Vito Aiuto pastors Resurrection Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, an EPC congregation which he founded in 2005, and is based at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. Both natives of Michigan, Vito studied literature at Western Michigan University before moving on to Princeton Theological Seminary, while Monique moved to New York to study art and works as a preschool teacher. Their first released music was on the 2001 compilation To Spirit Back the Mews. The groups's 2008 debut album, Welcome to the Welcome Wagon, featured major involvement from Sufjan Stevens, who recorded, engineered, mixed, and contributed vocals and various instruments to the album, as well as designing the artwork, and it was released on Stevens' Asthmatic Kitty label. Second album Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices followed in 2012. Third album Light Up The Stairs, was released in 2017. The group released their fourth studio album Esther, on November 4, 2022. The group's music was described by Allmusic as a "hybrid of contemporary folk, gospel, and indie pop". Welcome to the Welcome Wagon (2008), Asthmatic Kitty Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices (2012), Asthmatic Kitty Light Up the Stairs (2017), Tooth and Nail Esther (2022), Asthmatic Kitty Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing (2009), Asthmatic Kitty "There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood" – To Spirit Back the Mews (2001), Asthmatic Kitty "Sold! To the Nice Rich Man" – Mews Too: An Asthmatic Kitty Compilation (2006), Asthmatic Kitty "He Never Said a Mumblin' Word" – Bifrost Arts' Come O Spirit (2009), Sounds Familyre Alex Foote – lead guitar, lap steel guitar, background vocals Jay Foote – bass guitar, background vocals Sarah Fullen Gregory – background vocals Evan Gregory – organ, background vocals Justin Keller – acoustic guitar, clarinet, flute, tenor saxophone Evan Mazunik – piano Alan Markley – piano Kelley McRae – background vocals Sufjan Stevens – banjo, piano, vocals Isaac Wardell – guitar, background singing Meltzer, Marisa (November 2, 2011). "A Congregation in Skinny Jeans". The New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2017. Suarez, Jessica. "God Is In Welcome Wagon's Living Room". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on September 1, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017. Petrusich, Amanda. "The Welcome Wagon - 'Welcome to the Welcome Wagon'". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 1, 2017. Farias, Andree. "Welcome to the Welcome Wagon". Christianity Today. Retrieved September 1, 2017. Hamilton, Billy. "Reviews: The Welcome Wagon - 'Welcome To The Welcome Wagon'". The Skinny. Retrieved September 1, 2017. "Churches | EPC". epc.org. Retrieved July 31, 2020. Stosuy, Brandon (2009) "Quit Your Day Job: The Welcome Wagon", Stereogum, February 11, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2017 Leahey, Andrew "The Welcome Wagon Biography", Allmusic. Retrieved September 9, 2017 Gill, Andy (2012) "Album: The Welcome Wagon Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices Asthmatic Kitty", The Independent, July 27, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2017 Official website