Wila Frank, Laney Jones, Riley Parker

Wila Frank, Laney Jones, and Riley Parker: Three local rising stars will align at The 5 Spot for a damn cool night of fem lead indie-rock and alternative sounds.

Wila Frank: wilafrank.com 
Wila Frank, is a 24 year old singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer based in Nashville. In her adolescence, she traveled around the country playing folk music with various ensembles such as indie-folk duo Paper Wings and Civil Wars alum, Joy Williams. In 2020, Wila Frank picked up the electric guitar and began recording her debut album “Black Cloud” in collaboration with longtime friend Royal Masat (Bassist for Billy Strings) and French drummer Wendy Killman (Jehnny Beth etc.). With this imminent debut, Wila has created a sound that is at once fiery, cinematic, and mysteriously intimate. Her heart wrenching narratives reveal feelings of tortured longing and miasmic introspection, evoking a rich and sensitive pathos. Gritty guitar riffs recall sounds of early alt-rock with delicate feminine vocals provoking the ear and the heart. “Black Cloud” is anticipated to be released in early 2023.

Laney Jones: laney-jones.com
Press play on Jones’ mesmerizing new album, Stories Up High, and you’ll find yourself transported there, too. Recorded at East Nashville’s famed Bomb Shelter studio with producer Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Langhorne Slim), the collection is lush and immersive, with rich, elegant arrangements that ebb and flow beneath Jones’ velveteen vocals. Jones earned widespread acclaim with a string of early releases, drawing comparisons to the likes of Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver for her majestic take on organic roots music. Her 2013 debut, Golden Road, landed her a nationally televised performance at The Kennedy Center alongside Alison Krauss, Sara Bareilles, and Ben Folds, while her 2016 follow-up, Laney Jones, prompted Rolling Stone to hail her as an Artist You Need To Know and praise her “penetrating hooks” and “Seventies-era flourishes.” Tracks from the albums, meanwhile, racked up millions of streams on Spotify and turned up in films from major studios like Disney and Pixar alongside commercials for Google, Netflix, New Balance, Toyota, and Red Bull. 

Riley Parker: rileyparker.net
Katie Domschke, the queer songwriter and multi- instrumentalist behind indie-rock outfit Riley Parker started the band in 2015 after relocating to Nashville, TN from Pensacola, FL.Upon the release of Riley Parker’s first single, “Wilted,” NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest featured her band on their blog ‘Entries We Love.’ They wrote that [Wilted] ‘is like a comforting friend there to help soak up a melancholy feeling.” Riley Parker’s debut EP ‘Broken Promises’ is a beautiful and tender collection of ballads and anthems through which Domschke weaves poignant, dreamlike observations on trepidation, self- doubt, and conviction throughout one’s quest for love while discovering one’s identity. The music presents itself earnestly and untainted by modern irony and hearkens to a more organic and hopeful era in indie-rock music.