HOLLYY
The old souls of Chicago’s contemporary music scene.
Meet Hollyy: the five piece group bringing rich echoes of soul’s past to Chicago’s music scene. With gooey guitar lines, jazzy keyboards, and effortlessly smooth vocals, Hollyy creates colorful music that’s easy on the ears.
Hollyy’s sound carries a weight of heartache and emotion you can feel with every note. The passion you hear in Hollyy’s compositions extends to lyrics as well as instrumentation. “...We tend to try and write songs that you can take both a more literal and relatable takeaway as well as an in depth, perhaps introspective analysis in our lyrics. Something that you can analyze across a multitude of perspectives or hidden meanings has always been a fun concept for us because we enjoy those songs ourselves and therefore like to try and add a couple to the world. But there is also something so important and satisfying as getting a literal situation and feeling down on paper and then having people tell you that they related to those words because they've been there before themselves, or they're going through that now. It's almost that John Mayer type of literal songwriting that everyone finds some sort of relation to typically that draws people in.”
Their newest EP Miss the Feeling is their most polished release to date, showcasing where they’ve been, and where they’re headed. “The creation of Miss the Feeling felt so natural and fun. This has been the first time working with a producer and we've had the most amazing experience. It has been fun to see these songs develop and grow over time and also sort of feel like we're growing as musicians and songwriters ourselves as we go. A lot of these songs came together as we began a more collaborative approach to introducing ideas and riffs in a literal circle with each other, and then developing them in real time from there. We analyzed every lyric and we're super happy of what we ended up creating in this EP and are already on to the next project taking the lessons we learned from the first EP with us to continue enjoying our process.”
Formed in the summer of 2018, drummer Rafe Soto, lead vocalist and guitarist Tanner Bednar, and guitarist Brandon Couture jammed around the city in need of a steady bassist. Later that year, bassist Dominic Zeier and keyboardist Peter Giere came into the mix, filling in the final pieces of the Hollyy puzzle. “We immediately began playing shows all around Chicago and traveled a bit here and there. We realized that we gelled super quickly as a unit and began to write songs together pretty immediately as well. Once that perfect recipe is there, you naturally just hang out together all the time outside of music-related events as well which is key,” explains Tanner.
Upon first listen, it’s easy to assume that Hollyy’s sound would come from seasoned musicians, perhaps over 50, who have years of experience under their belt. The soulful, confident vocals Tanner lays down could be easily mistaken for contemporaries of Stevie Wonder, Al Green, and Curtis Mayfield. Hollyy’s rich sound proves age ain’t nothin’ but a number. Their music is the sonic definition of an old soul. There’s something refreshing about young musicians taking a classic approach to old genres. Despite the production of their studio sound having a modern flare, their compositions truly honor the origins of soul. The blend of these worlds creates a band that transcends the age of it’s listener. Whether it be in the car with your friends, or over speakers at your Grandma’s house, their music touches audiences of all generations and tastes.
“I've talked about this with my brother a lot who's a musician living in Boston for the past 10 years, and the consensus is there is no music community like Chicago.”
As a band on the Chicago scene, Hollyy embraces the unique energy of the city’s creative community. “A lot of our favorite artists and groups are from Chicago and we're lucky to have them constantly inspiring us and available for us to catch shows with and bump into. The independent venue community is very special and full of supportive staff here that are always looking to help out Chicago bands. I consider us incredibly lucky to be able to start up in this community.” With live music on pause, Hollyy has turned their focus onto their next studio release. “Until the day we can play live again our focus is basically to keep writing as much as possible and dropping as much content as we can. We're definitely looking to get out on the road as much as possible once things open back up - but until then we're really enjoying the writing process.”
“It's my theory that we're going to come out of this period (and it may take a little more time than we'd like it to) and be in the midst of an Arts Renaissance where we see a massive boom in talent and creativity and newfound appreciation for the arts all around.”
Musicians worldwide have been left wondering what’s next for the industry. While the future is scary and unknown, Tanner expresses optimism for what lies ahead… and a little justified irritation. “In short let’s have Congress pull their heads out of their ass and pass some meaningful legislation that includes independent music venues getting at least a safety net to stay afloat to start?? I can't imagine it's going to be a super smooth transition back into live music as we knew it, but luckily the music industry is flooded with the most creative minds in the world and just as we're seeing creative temporary adjustments to continue aspects of music these days I don't doubt the same creativity will transpire this Winter to help keep the dream alive for artists, venues, and fans alike.”