MUSIC IN THE MOUNTAINS

Inspired by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the rich musical traditions tied to them, Tara Mills describes her music as, ” original mountain americana;” an original blend of folk, bluegrass, and americana.

Writing and singing most of her life, it wasn’t long before Tara picked up a guitar and taught herself how to express the melodies in her head through her songs and hauntingly beautiful lyrics. Influenced by bluegrass, old country, and traditional mountain folk, she creates an original sound that captures true human feeling and emotion.
Based out of Charlottesville, VA, Tara has played and written in a couple of different musical projects. In Tara’s current project, Tara Mills Band, she combines her lyrics and voice with South Virginia native Gabe Robey to create a very powerful yet driving original sound described as a mix of modern-day folk, bluegrass, and americana. Robey also keeps time in the band with his mastering of traditional bluegrass style mandolin. Charlottesville native Luke Neer accompanies the group with his innovative banjo playing that encompasses melodic patterns mixed with traditional Scruggs style playing. Bill Collins and Mike Hott bring unique jazz infused and traditional tones on the upright
bass.

Tara Mills has played at many music festivals including DelFest, The Festy Experience, Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion, Red Wing Roots Music Festival, etc.

Høly River was founded by multi-instrumentalists Laney Sullivan and Jameson Price. Fusing together the pulse of drone pop and worldly instrumentation, this experimental music would best be described as a landscape, as a biome all its own. This musical phenomenon has come to be known as Earth Folk, a type of music inspired thematically by the natural environment: flora, fauna, soil, stars, and the human experience.

From harmonium engulfed melodies to mouth-harp stomp grass, Høly River taps into an embodied and innate celebration of internal and external worlds, attempting to bring them closer together with each beat. On record or in-person, a listener is entranced in the soaring vocal ballads bathed in the moonlight of dance beats and folk-inspired roots. The music of Høly River carries the message of humanity’s need for reconnection with the earth.