By Austin Lindner | Echo
It all dawned one fall day last October. Five Taylor students, all musically talented, came together to provide entertainment for "Bergwalladay," a traditional fall celebration for Bergwall Hall. Comprised of seniors Jack Rose on lead guitar and Will Tice on bass, juniors Ryan Ericson on mandolin and vocals and Ryan Lanier on vocals and rhythm guitar and sophomore Grason Poling on percussion, the group played to a delighted crowd. Surprised by their chemistry onstage, the five decided to continue writing and playing music together by forming a band. Their name? Sun & Heir.
"We liked the idea of 'heir,' like we all have the responsibility of being heirs of Christ," Lanier said.
Since last fall, these musicians have quickly begun to make a name for themselves both on campus and off with their unique brand of acoustic, alternative folk. The group has released two singles titled "Weekend" and "Beautiful Girl," available for download on Noisetrade. In terms of sound, the band combines a variety of musical genres and inspirations into their own unique brand of music.
"We all like totally different music, so we're all pulling from different places," Tice said. Because of their variety of music backgrounds, the band has written unreleased songs that range in style from indie and electronic to more country-sounding pieces.
Over the last year, the band has received a great deal of support from Taylor students and faculty, who currently make up the majority of the group's 600 likes on their Facebook page.
"On our wing, we literally hear our song like twice a day and that's been super encouraging," Lanier said.
Thanks to the positive reception of their first two singles, the band hopes to release an EP of five songs by April, in addition to playing several shows around Taylor's campus in the coming months. On Oct. 3, Sun & Heir are planning to play with Tennessee group Joel Levi, and on Nov. 7 they plan to share the stage with junior Taylor Hughes.
"We'll have sporadic house shows too, so be looking out for those," Rose added.
The band will release their third song, called "Breathe My Mind," Sept. 8 on Noisetrade. Sun & Heir says the new single is somewhat of a departure from their mainly acoustic sound, as they explore a more electronic style.
"It's very different from anything we've put out," Tice said. "Let's just say you won't hear an acoustic guitar in it."
