Lotus

Rock / Funk

Formed in the late 1990s, Lotus blends rock, jam, electronica, funk, jazz and other elements into its musical stew. Lotus has toured across the United States and beyond and performed at festivals including Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, Ultra, and Rothbury.

Lotus first blossomed at Goshen College where twin brothers Luke and Jesse Miller practiced in the space below Goshen College’s cafe, The Leaf Raker. In 2012, Lotus performed a triumphant hometown show at The Goshen Theater as a fundraiser for the Theater and Goshen First Fridays.

Strand of Oaks

Rock / Americana

Strand of Oaks is led by Goshen native Timothy Showalter. His band’s sound is a mix of churning guitar rock, pop, electronic, and Americana.

Strand of Oaks’ most recent release, 2014’s “Heal,” was lauded by NPR and landed on several top album of the year lists – Consequence of Sound (No. 14), the AV Club (No. 11), and American Songwriter (No. 3.)

Showalter brought his “Heal”-ing power during an appearance on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” – and later, to his hometown at an August 2014 gig at Ignition Music Garage.

Kansas Bible Company

Rock

Kansas Bible Company originated at Goshen College. The group of friends blends brass with psychedelic rock and has several albums to its credit, including “Ad Astra Per Aspera,” “Surf Rock Trilogy,” “Hotel Chicamauga,” “Dads Day,” and the soon-to-be released, “Paper Moon.”

The band members are Jake Miller, James Green, Charlie Frederick, Michael Ruth, Jeff Yoder, Jake Snyder, Nathan Marrow, and Daniel Guajardo.

Goldmine Pickers

Bluegrass / Folk / Americana / Irish

The Goldmine Pickers have been picking since 2003, playing an amalgam of bluegrass, folk, Americana, and Irish music. The Pickers include Adam Carter, Lukas Simpson, and Sean Hoffman.

Their albums include a self-titled debut, “Lonesome Gone,” and “Goldmine Pickers Live.” A Lukas Simpson-penned Pickers song, “Conversation’s Free,” was heard by TV and radio audiences in 40 countries as part of a Nissan_SHIFT commercial.

Kingston Falls

Christian / Metal / Punk

Kingston Falls was a Goshen-based Christian hardcore band. The group’s albums include “Kingston Falls,” “Crusader,” “The Crescendo of Sirens,” and “Armada on Mercury.” Kingston Falls’ membership included Brent Zebell, Josiah Gaut, Jason Goff, Josh Battles, Bill Bowers, John Busenbark, Nate Lambright Dale, and Justin Gibson.

Lalo Cura

Latin Rock

Lalo Cura is a Spanish-style rock band formed in 2012. The band is led by Rafael Chávez y Moreno on guitar and vocals, and also includes Adam Carter on guitar and vocals, Sam Que on saxophone, Sonny Carreño on drums, and Adam Hart on bass.

Lalo Cura’s music is reaching an audience even outside the Goshen area. Latin music source Alt.Latino recently picked the band as one of its favorites from NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest.

Double Barrel Darrel

Folk Rock, Indie

Double Barrel Darrel was a Americana band that, according to its Facebook bio, wrote and played “its own brand of heart-weight rock and roll.”

DBD was made up by Aaron Sawatsky-Kingsley (guitar, vocals), Andrew Gerber (guitar, harmonica, vocals), Nathan Mateer Rempel (drums, guitar, vocals), Philip Kaufman (bass), Sonny Carreño (percussion, drums, vocals), Greg Miller (drums), and Jay Lapp (guitar, banjo, mandolin, vocals). DBD albums include “Geophagy,” “Overland Underground,” and “Nashville Made in China.”

The White Oaks

Folk / Alternative

“The White Oaks make music to help you fight well with those you love the most,” reads the band’s website. The Oaks are Jason Ropp (guitar/vocals), Michelle Oyer (vocals/keyboard/bass), Tyler Mounsithiraj (guitar/keyboard), and Jordan Oyer (drums).

Dos Hermanos Band

Rockabilly / Blues

Dos Hermanos Band is a rockabilly/rock/blues band. The gritty, often appealingly loud combo is Chris Gingerich (guitar, vocals), David Guevara (drums), and Brandon Seitz (upright bass).

Mister Three Hearts

Electronic Rock

Sharing strands of musical DNA with The Feelies, Sonic Youth, and electric-mode Neil Young, Mister Three Hearts is actually four: Doug Earl (guitar/vocals), David Hazledine (guitar), Adam Hart (bass), and Jake Driver (drums).

Shiny Shiny Black

Americana

Headed up by Nathan Butler (vocals, guitar), Shiny Shiny Black plays low-volume, high-energy Americana roots music. Shiny Shiny Black is augmented by Nathan’s wife, Amber, on bass and vocals.

Shiny Shiny Black’s full-length debut album, “Travelers,” was released on Record Store Day in 2014. The band has also released a live album titled “A Bright Light on the Horizon – Songs from the Stage, 2012-2015.”

The Tumbleweed Jumpers

Folk Rock / Americana

The Tumbleweed Jumpers is a folk/rock/Americana collective whose music, according to the band’s website, “ is influenced by rock, blues, folk, jazz, and bluegrass, modern twists on old-time folk tunes, and rabble-rousing sea shanties.”

Ramidus

Metal

Ramidus was a metal band made up of Nathan Mateer Rempel and Nathan Yoder (guitars), Brandon Miller (vocals), Philip Kaufman (bass), and Troy Moss (drums). If Danzig and Trouble had a child, that spawn might well be named Ramidus.

Wilson’s Reservoir

Folk / Alternative / Country

Led by frontman Ben Wilson, Wilson’s Reservoir is a folk/alternative/alt country band that also includes Andy Martin (bass), Andrew Hauser (drums), and Rafael Chávez y Moreno (guitar).

The Apes of Wrath

Reggae, Funk, Rock

The Apes of Wrath were a reggae band featuring Jason Oswald (drums), Nate Sohar (guitar), Mark Yoder (keyboards), David Guevara (percussion), Patrick Bickle (bass), and Melissa McQueen (vocals). Despite its fearsome name, the only wrath this band inspired was taken out on the dance floor.

Sad Tropics

Alternative Rock

“Combine a heavy dose of the Pixies and Fugazi with the melodic vocals of Matthew Sweet and Built to Spill, and the quirkiness of Weezer, and you’ve got a great band, Sad Tropics,” read an estimation of the band in the ‘zine S.L.A.M.

Sad Tropics was made up of Josh Hensley (guitar/vocals), Andy Martin (bass/vocals), and Jeremiah Wade (drums). In our humble opinion, the group’s EP “Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt” is still the best Kurt Vonnegut-referencing album title in music history.