Arbour Season are the husband and wife duo of Shane and Emily. If it seems like those two names flow together nicely it’s because they used to make music under that name in the past, but they’ve rebranded their musical sound into Arbour Season. They are a captivating indie folk duo that we have covered a few times in the recent past. I had a chance to virtually sit down with Shane and get a bit more of their story.
They got their start making music after meeting at a open mic night in Florida. Emily had been a singer much of her life. Shane started guitar as a teenager. Within a month of that fated open mic night, they were best friends making music together. They performed a range of cover songs in those early years with both “Folsom Prison Blues” and “Gimme Love” bringing iconic moments and connections. Their sound was shaped then and into the present day by artists such as Gregory Alan Isakov, Adrian Linker, Novo Amor, and Paper Kites. After years of performing together, they decided they want to be more than a “guy girl duo.” They wanted to become a serious indie folk band.
Their track “Rubatosis” was one of my songs of the year in 2020, so of course I wanted to ask about it given this opportunity. Shane lit up at the opportunity to discuss how “Rubatosis” was the song that helped them decide to make the transition from Shane and Emily to Arbour Season. It represented a serious approach to indie folk songwriting. It was partially inspired by Shane’s massive playlist of “songs I wish I wrote.” It’s a consistently updated list to pull from for inspiration and ideas.
I asked how they were able to be so consistent with their quality. “Rubatosis” was two years ago, but the more recent “Dear Autumn” is also quite wonderful and high quality. Shane mentioned that this is the beauty of their songwriting partnership; they’re always able to work together, even though different songs have their own stylistic approach. For example, “Dear Autumn” was written entirely by Emily. However, many of the songs have an initial draft by Shane that is later perfected by Emily’s precise critical and detailed ear.
A major part of their musical partnership is rooted in their marriage, of course. And it’s a unique marriage in that they live a rather nomadic lifestyle. You can check out their lifestyle vlogs where they talk about living in a converted bus as they travel the country performing. They do house concerts, van life gatherings, and actually have a huge following within the nomadic community. Shane said, “we’re the band for the homeless.” I thought that was a wonderful nickname and worthy legacy as artists.
The way Shane talked about their travel and connection with people combined with observing some of the lyrics on their most recent album made me curious as to the religious context of their performance. Shane said unapologetically, “we love Jesus.” He went on to explain a bit of the missional element of their life. As musical missionaries they have three main strategies: 1) freedom of travel, 2) financial freedom, and 3) building friendships and relationships. He went on to explain that “Jesus is the heartbeat of everything we do.” But ultimately they’re not necessarily being preachy in their shows. “Our agenda is indie folk music,” he added. They do perform a lot of church gigs. The style of music they play is intimate and draws people into thoughtful lyrics about life and love.
If you’re new to hearing about this artist, check out Arbour Season on Spotify. If you want to learn more of their day to day story adventures, make sure to follow their travel vlogs. Lastly, if you are moved to support their mission, you can support them on Patreon.
Image courtesy: Arbour Season IG
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