Local Artist Spotlight: ilyAIMY

https://www.ilyaimy.com

For over two decades, Rob Hinkal and Heather Aubrey Lloyd have crisscrossed the nation as ilyAIMY (i love you And I Miss You) playing everything from bait shops to biker weeks to clothing-optional resorts, folk festivals, heavy metal festivals and jams of def comedy. Award-winning narrative songs with soulful, powerful male / female harmonies and a percussive, clawhammer-like acoustic guitar provide the heart of the band, while their infectious energy and rapid-fire lyricism is softened with cello, driven by Irish bones and bodhran, beatboxing, djembe, and thickened by didgeridoo, synths and keys creating “an acoustically roiling, combustible attack on the usual singer/songwriter fare”.

Their energetic brand of new-folk has garnered honors from the Bernard/Ebb Songwriter Awards, Mid-Atlantic Song Contest, Kerrville Folk Festival, the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Washington Area Music Awards, Rocky Mountain Folks Fest, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, National Association for Campus Activities, the Northeast & Southeast Regional Folk Alliances, FOLK Ontario and more. They are three-time winners of the Washington Area Music Association Winners for Best Contemporary Folk Group and are known for combining their award-winning songwriting, tight male/female harmonies, signature intricate slap-style guitar work, ukulele, percussion and an eclectically humorous stage show into an exquisite package.

Depending on the setting, ilyAIMY can be anywhere from a duo to a six-piece band that includes any combination of: Kristen Jones on electric cello & harmony vocals, Rowan Corbett on percussion (bones, djembe, cajon), guitar, banjo, vocals & didgeridoo, Sharif on piano & bass, and Joey Jenkins on drum kit/percussion. Check out the “About Us” menu above for more info on each band member.

2023 marked the 20th anniversary of rob & Heather’s touring musical partnership: 11 albums and hundreds of thousands of miles of touring… and going strong.

“A bone-rattling acoustic act… with driving lyrical force [and] male/female harmonies that lock in, lift, drop and pull … And then they slow it down and rip you open.”

“ilyAIMY ain’t your grandpa’s folk music – and thank goodness. They are fearless writers and performers… Voices this rich and emotionally hard-hitting – equal parts velvet darkness, barely contained heartbreak, and hard-won, unstoppable joy – don’t come around often.”

“[ilyAIMY is] extremely versatile, incredibly skilled and uniquely diverse…. Didgeridoo, tribal drumming … acoustic or wild … guitar with EBow, strings, keyboard and a great live sound gives way to lots of dynamics within a style that’s very much their own; reflecting influences from indigenous tunes along with dark and edgy folk numbers, the band ultimately provides [an]interesting in-your-face blend of rock through whatever direction they choose… Fiery vocals full of passion channel … with a low-tuned guitar and thick male vocals… growls/throat singing mesh with female backing support that’s direct and clear. All of this makes the band an unstoppable driving force.” – Declan Poehler | Frederick News-Post

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