As soon as the ethereal, indie rock trio Wyelow was conceived in 2022, they've kept themselves busy. With several upcoming shows and a debut album in the works, frontwoman Holly Wilson and her bandmates, Todd Rosenberg and Davey Hemm, are gearing up for an exciting year. The group tours all over Oregon and will perform at Silver Moon Brewing on July 15.
Before teaming up with Rosenberg and Hemm, Wilson was performing as a solo artist in Bend. Feeling burned out, she decided to take a hiatus. According to Wilson, who claims her lyrics are confessional and occasionally dark, she believed that playing with a group could create a different, more uplifting energy for the audience. She confided in Rosenberg, her now bandmate and partner. The stars aligned when Rosenberg and Hemm, who chimed in after overhearing the conversation, offered up their skills.
Initially, the drummer and bass guitarist planned on accompanying Wilson only for her next few shows.
"It has just grown from there and we never stopped playing together," said Wilson. Just a few months later, Wyelow was asked to perform at last year's Munch and Music concert series. "I was just floored because we had never played in front of more than maybe 35-40 people," Wilson told the Source Weekly.
Wilson has been a singer her whole life and started writing music at the age of 20 after going through a bad breakup. "I immediately wrote a song about this experience," she said. "It kind of gave me a tool to work through all of those big emotions." Wilson's favorite thing about being a musician is her ability to share her story. "When I feel that other people are touched by my lyrics, or touched by my songs, it's such a beautiful experience. . . it's like, my favorite thing in the world."
She writes personal music that serves as a window into her mind. Wilson has always been a writer, she said, keeping journals and diaries from a young age. She sees her songwriting as an extension of that. Wilson's musical influences include artists such as the Cranberries, Radiohead, Joni Mitchell and Elliott Smith. Wilson's light, soprano voice and finger-picking guitar lines, mixed with the grunge, punk rock sound of the bass and drums, make an ideal combination of dreamy folk with an edge.
