Mountain Laurel

Mountain Laurel

Mountain Laurel is the oft told tale of a college cover band turned indie rock group. All four members of the band are Fairfield, CT natives, New York City residents, and alumni of Fordham University. In the fall of 2014 Andrew Pierson, Robert Salandra, and William Corona began playing bars and rooftop parties alike in their beloved Bronx, New York as a cover band called Seabass and the Fellas. After graduating from Fordham, the three friends stuck together to continue playing shows in the New York City metro area, eventually supplementing their sound with the delicate tones of vocalist Emma Salandra. Informed by Phish and Dave Matthews Band shows at the Hartford Meadows, classic rock on FM radio’s 95.9 the Fox, and their parents’ Stevie Wonder and Fleetwood Mac records, Mountain Laurel’s sound transcends the typical indie rock genre to include influences of folk, jazz, rock, pop, and country music. While their streaming numbers are modest, the band takes extreme pride in the grassroots following they have cultivated - they've sold out venues across New England at shows that feel more like family reunions than gatherings of strangers.

The Moonrise Cartel

The Moonrise Cartel is an American folk rock band blending folk, classic rock and Americana with a touch of gospel. The band features soaring harmonies, introspective lyrics, and a vintage sound profile that is reminiscent of the Laurel Canyon music scene balanced with a modern touch to be equal parts timeless, and for the time. Fueled by songwriter Al Pascarelli’s deeply personal writings of a lifelong battle with mental illness, alcoholism and eventual emergence out of the darker shades of the human experience, this is a band with several gears and one that takes you on an incredible journey. His voice is coupled upfront by Stephanie Harrison who wows with striking vocal prowess, bobbing effortlessly between stunning power and heartbreakingly delicate delivery. Gorgeous layers of ambient color come through Sean O’reilly with his piano and harp arrangements, often at the same time. Finally, it is all held together on the rock solid backdrop of Benji LeFevre and Steve Tobey on the low end of bass and drums.

Host or Publisher Fairfield Theatre Company