NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In the past year, two members of the four-person group The Vespers got married and a third got engaged. While it slowed down their writing for their next album, it only halted their touring for a month. After hitting Indianapolis Friday, the Nashville, Tenn.-based band performs at Cerulean Garden in Winona Lake Saturday at 7:30 p.m., with opening act Anderson East. They then perform in Georgia, Tennessee, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio over the next two months. In a telephone interview Tuesday afternoon from Nashville, Phoebe Cryar said the band is still touring on its April 2012 album “The Fourth Wall.” With her and her sister, Callie Cryar, both getting married, it’s been a crazy year, she said. “My sister and I grew up singing and playing together. We were The Vespers before we met the Jones brothers,” she said. The Jones brothers are Bruno and Taylor. The Cryar sisters and the Jones brothers had a mutual friend in Nashville. After both sets of siblings were introduced at that person’s house, they evolved into friends. They went to each other’s shows. The sisters wanted a backing band and knew the Jones brothers were real good at harmonizing. Phoebe and Callie decided to record Callie’s songs. During that recording process, Bruno and Taylor went from backing the band to being full members of The Vespers. As for songwriting, Phoebe said she usually starts writing most of the songs, but she has trouble finishing them. If her sister or one of the Joneses don’t jump in, they have a lot of friends in Nashville who will help out. The songs are about a myriad of things. “It’s different every time,” Phoebe stated. She may be inspired by something she sees or hears at a live show. It may be a line from a book, or some experience. Some people may consider The Vespers as an Americana band. However, Phoebe said their music is “kind of hard to explain. We have trouble explaining ourselves.” While their music may fit into Americana, it also has elements of bluegrass, folk and even Christian musical tradition. “In the Americana movement happening now, the music contains a lot of faith elements,” she said. The Vespers don’t just put those elements into their music for kicks, though, she said. All four members are of faith and are passionate about it. As for that third album, she said the group hopes it will be written by the end of the year. She can see the past year’s events, like their weddings, potentially making it into some of their songs. Marriage is not like the movies, she said. It’s challenging, but fun. Couples have to work at it in order for it to be successful. And while the foursome is working at their music, they’re seeing the fruits of their labor blossom into a promising musical career. “It’s growing every single day. We’re really excited about it,” Phoebe said. “We’ve been doing this four years. But that’s how it is. You play and play and play. We’re excited about what the future looks like. We hope to get a deal that looks right to us.” Until then, the group will continue to tour, including Saturday’s stop in Winona Lake. And having played Cerulean in 2012, Phoebe said the group is looking forward to another concert there. “Last year was so much fun. It was packed. We played out on the patio. It was really beautiful. We had a really nice and responsive audience. It’s really fun when we get an enthusiastic audience like that,” she stated. For more on The Vespers, see their official website at thevesperband.com The website also has links to their Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For more on Cerulean Restaurant or its Cerulean Gardens Summer Concert Season, visit www.ceruleanrestaurant.com
