St. Paul de Vence

Seattle, Washington
Indie.Folk.Pop
Band members:
Benjamin Doerr | Mike Sievers | Lydia Ramsey | Kale Lotton | Keelan O'hara
From incidental and unplanned beginnings, St. Paul de Vence has emerged out of one genuine step after another into the band they are today. Indeed, they bring forth a sound that grows so directly out of who they are, weaving together their multi-instrumental and vocal-harmony talents with a natural ease and joy reminiscent of Crosby, Stills, and Nash. When band member Benjamin Doerr began to write songs about his grandfather’s early life fighting with the Free French Forces in WWII, it was uncertain, as well as unplanned, how quickly they would be received. From first listen, friends were raving about how the demos of these nostalgic songs were some of Doerr’s finest and truest work so far. Soon after, long-time collaborators joined the journey to expand the work into something ever grander. Upon a story of youth, war, love and life that sits so close to Doerr – and, indeed, most of humanity – was built an artistic structure that continues to drive this group to new creative places.
Formed in June of 2011, a wave of good omens and overwhelming responses continues to follow the band’s steady and sincere work. Only four months after their formation they gathered in the studio to record their debut, self-titled album, with a live approach and minimal overdubs. The album proved a success with seven straight weeks in the Top 10 of KEXP’s Americana and Pacific Northwest Charts following its release. One good thing lead to another, and the record was selected as one of KEXP’s Top Albums of 2012. Don Yates of KEXP says of St. Paul de Vence, “The band’s dynamic, acoustic-oriented sound includes guitars, accordion, ukulele, autoharp, banjo, mandolin, assorted percussion and more, fleshing out well-crafted songs with warm, soulful harmonies and occasional anthemic choruses.”
The band continues to evolve its sound by adapting to various performance configurations. From the streets to restaurants, living room concerts to club venues, no matter how you experience St. Paul de Vence one thing is for certain – they love the music they’re making.