News

Indie pop and soul band headlines Rhythm & Brews show

Erin and The Wildfire

By Lightning Reports, Published: June 9, 2022

Erin & The Wildfire, a Virginia-based indie pop and soul band will headline the second show of the 2022 Rhythm & Brews Concert Series on Thursday, June 16, following opener Hustle Souls.

Starting out as four college kids in Charlottesville, Virginia, making music for fun, Erin & The Wildfire has grown into a flourishing, decade-long musical relationship among four best friends. E&TW, who now call Virginia’s capital city of Richmond home, have evolved their sound over the past 10 years to where it currently stands firmly in the soul and indie-pop genres, drawing influences from a wide range of artists including Emily King, D’Angelo, YEBBA, Vulfpeck, and Donny Hathaway. The band blends the expressive, powerhouse vocals of frontwoman, Erin Lunsford, with the pop, funk and indie sensibilities of bandmates Ryan Lipps (guitar), Nick Quillen (drums) and Matt Wood (bass). In addition to the core four, E&TW has recently found a kindred musical soul in keyboardist Stephen Roach, who joined the band in 2019.

Asheville-based Hustle Souls blend dust-covered-vinyl nostalgia with modern sensibility. Recently named a Music Connection Magazine Hot 100 Live Unsigned Artists & Bands, the band plays what one writeup called a "generation-jumping mashup of new school second line funk with old school vintage soul."

The free concert takes place on the south end of Main Street between Allen and Caswell streets. Hustle Souls opens the show at 5:30 p.m. followed by Erin & The Wildfire, on stage from 7:30-9:30 p.m.

The 2022 Rhythm & Brews Concert Series is presented by Horizon Heating & Air Conditioning. For the youngest in the family, the Hands On! Kids Zone will provide kid-friendly activities. Meanwhile, adults can enjoy downtown Hendersonville’s first fully integrated beer and wine garden featuring locally crafted drinks from Sierra Nevada, Guidon Brewing Co., Oklawaha Brewing Co., Dry Falls Brewing Co., Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards, Flat Rock Cider Company and Bold Rock Hard Cider. Food is available for purchase from local food trucks.